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^97/ ^^
THE NEW CODE. 1871.
THE
USEFUL KNOWLEDGE
BEAPING BOOKS
adapted' W . ^-.:
. . . ,
THE USE OF BOAkD-SCHObLS AND
• ^ . . . • . . . ^ • • .
REV. E. T. STEVENS, B.A, Oxok^ A.K.C. Loni>.
CUBAIB OF SAKDrORD-OK-THAMBS ;
and th«
REV. CHARLES HOLE, F.R.G.ft
HSAO JCMfSB Of VOKTM OBBiJf aOlTBS flGBODL, <VllBSr;
lOBWBLT SBAO BCAgnOi OF IT. THQKA^S COLLBOUTS flCBOOI.* GBSWMt
MtfOMB dr «fl«ir (9J{iiz>ir iBagojf gooKB' <c«»
Boys* First Standard.
LOND(iN :
- *
LONGMANS, GKEEN, AND CO.
1872.
Thb Editobs Tentnze to call the attention of Teachers and
Hanagen of Schools to their
INTRODUCTORY LESSON BOOK,
embracing Bbadiko, Wiumra, and Abithmbtxc, as pre-
paratory .to the First Standard nndfiv the Nef^r. Code, 187U
They also beg to refer to their series of
QRADe LESSON BOOKS,
especially .adapted to the ^ New Code, 1871»..and embracing
BfiA.DiNQ, Spfiixmo, Wbi^o, and AiuTHMEiic.
These books will be found very suitable for use alternately
with the Useful Knowlbdg/b Series, as required by the
Committee of Council on Educ^Bbtion. '
They areiilso specially adapted as Home Lesson Books
in lill the essential subjtets of the Code Examinations.
0^}kThe Editors demire to call the attention of Teachers
to the notices on pages Tiii and zii of this Yolume.
I
J
n ')\
\
\
. \
\
S
\
: I
ADVEETISEMENT
TO THE
FIRST EDITION
OP
USEFUL KNOWLEPGE EEADING BOOKS.'
SEBISS FOB BOYS.
SEBIES FOB GIBLS.
The Editors of these Series have been led to
undertake their prodiiotioii by the fiact that,
for our Elementary Schools, there is an ac-
knowledged want of books combining facility
in teaching to read with the inculcation of
such useful knowledge as is calculated to pre-
pare the .young to enter upon the practical
duties of life with intelligent and well-fur-
nished mmds. , '
In attempting to produce such a work, the
chief difficulty is that of supplying useful
^knowledge in a form sufficiently attractive^
IV ADVERTISEMENT.
and so suited to the capacities of children as
to awaken their interest and excite in them a
thirst for knowledge; in truth, to eflfect a
threefold oWect, namely, to teacl^ them to
read, to cultivate in their minds a love of
reading, and, at the same time, to impart
sound and useful instruction in those matters
relating to every-day life, for which no special
times can he set apart in the daily routine of
an elementary school.
Hitherto this difficulty has seemed insuper-
able; and this has led to the production of
books addressed almost exclusively to the
imagination — the moral and emotional nature
of children — to tiie rimost total omission of
subjects of practical utility.
Although it must be allowed that a vary
gratifying degree of success has attended the
use of such books, and it cannot be wished
that they should be superseded, as they cer-
tainly fulfil a very important office in the
training of the children in elementary schools,
the Editors beHeve it is generally felt by
all thoughtful friends of elementary educa-
tion, that the School means of training the
young wfll be very insufficient, unless, in
addition to books cdT this class, others be
suppUed which shaU affi)rd more practical
information. Also, it is found in the working
of a school that a double set of reading-books
is very advantageous, and teachers will readily
confess that the benefit derived from an occa*
ADVERTISEMENT. V
sional change of books more than counter-
balances the sKght additional expense which
is entailed.
The great difficulty, however, which has
been mentioned above, has not, as &r as the
Editors' knowledge extends, hitherto been
overcome.
For the most part, those reading-books
which aim at giving useful information to their
young readers, have failed in presenting what
IS attractive and interesting, and adapted to
the minds of children* The present Editors
believe that this comparative* failure may be
explained partly on the ground that the books
are written rather by theorists than by persons
practicaUy axjquainted, aa teachers, with the
minds of children, and partly that the ex-
tracts are taken from writers whose ideas and
language fly far above their heads ; whUe not
unfrequently too many lessons are prepared by
the same hand, and thus the books acquire a
monotonous and wearisome character.
A further mistake in such books has been
made by the introduction of subjects in-^
volving technical teaching, which the Editors
feel sure can be imparted effectually only
through manuals specially treating the several
subjects.
The Useful Knowledge Reading Booksy
therefore, aim chiefly at giving information
that shall be valuable in itself, and that shall
also lay a firm basis for any special technical
VI ADVKRTISEMENT*
education that may be afterwards entered
upon. This foundation will best be laid by
imparting to boys, whose livelihood must be
drawn from the soil, some knowledge of its
products and of the method of dealing with
it ; and by supplying, in the case of girls, as
far as books can do, the immediate and in-
dispensable need of a real and solid acquaint-
ance with the practical matters involved in
the management of a home. It is, further,
obvious that much information may be given
of the uses to which agricultural and mineral
j)roduct8 may be put without entering into
technicalities ; and in this respect it is hoped
the present series will not be found wanting.
The Editors of the Useiul Knowledge
Reading Books sincerely desire that they may
not be misunderstood in these remarks. They
make them in no captious spirit, but merely
as explaining the difficulties in the way of
producing a really suitable series of Useful
Knowledge Reading Books ; and as indicating
the causes of the defects which are admitted
by practical persons to prevail in most exist-
ing books of the kind.
In determining, therefore, the principles
which should guide them in the production
of these series, the Editors set before them-
selves the following points, and have done their
best to carry them out : —
1. The lessons contained in the books must
ADVERTISEMENT. vfi
impart useful knowledge^ including in this
moral teaching.
2. They must be concise, yet comprehen-
sive.
3. They must have variety and attractive-
ness in style, and be level with the capacities
of the children for whom they are intended.
4. They must not treat of subjects tech-
nically, technical teaching being inappro-
priate to such books, and above the capacities
of the children for whom they are mtended.
5. Looking at the fact that the pursuits
and interests of girls are, for the most part,
diflferent from those of boys, although they
have much in common, it would be useful and
desirable to present a series drawn up especially
for girls. (This series, the Editors hope, will
be considered particularly valuable, present-
ing, as it does, the results of the experience
and knowledge of those who, having devoted
their time and talents to the training and man-
agement of the young of their own sex^ must be
peculiarly, and it may be almost said exclu-
sively, qualified to produce lessons suited to
the wants and capacities of girls.)
6. To carry out the idea, many coadjutors
must be obtained specially qualified for the
work.
The Editors, feeling assured that school-
masters and schoolmistresses actually engaged
in teaching the young are best qualified* to
yui ADVERTISEMENT.
write lessons calculated to interest boys and
girls, and adapted to their capacities, appealed
3iei*efore to many teachers of approved ability
to aid them in tms important work — an appeal
which, they are thankful to say, has been
responded to in the best spirit; and they
have great pleasure in announcing that they
have been assisted m the work in hand by
some of the best educated and most expe-
rienced of the trained and certificated masters
and mistresses of elementary schools, and have
ftlso received the kind aid of personal friends
coimected with educational work. With such
invaluable help, they have been able to produce
two series of books — one for Boys and another
for Girls — which they hope will thoroughly
meet the wants of the classes for whose in-
struction they are intended.
NOTICE TO TEACHERS.
I. The Committee of Council on Education now require that
each School subject to Inspection shall be provided with
TWO ooKFLEXB SETB OF KisAJ^nrchBDOKS, and that the
children presented for examination shall show an acquaint-
ance with the stTBTBOi: hatteb of the Lessons contamed in
their respective standards.
XL Her Majesty's Inspectors require in Schools, where Singing
is not taught from notes, that the children shall be able to
sing at least six songs from memory with correct words,
tune, and time. The Editors have therefore inserted in
each standard of this series several pieces of poetry which
have been set to music, in order that the children may have
the means of learning the words correctly before they are
taught to sing them. See page ziL
•
♦
•
CONTENTS.
f •
PAGt
The Semes . . • EtC. 1
Bread . . . . « . . JET. C. 8
Truth * . .. . '• •' a • M^J.Y* 5
Foetryz Lattle White Lily . . . . &. MaodonM 7
The Dog . . . •JSr.e, 8
The Cat id 10
Poetry : Cock-a-doodle-^loo • J2. X. JET. IS
The Fig** -• -• • •• •• -• *• *• E,'S, 14
Good Temper .E. 7. iSL 19
Fish • . . ^. a 19
/Ve^: Bobin Bedhreast . . W, AMmgham 21
Water * . JBL J7. Sfi
The Monkey ....•« id, 24
i^Mfyy: Nutting jR»Z.A S7
The Hone E^S. 28
Kindness E. J. Y. ^
The Goat JT. C. 82
The Saephaxrt «IL 84
Poetry : Gome to the Bam and Flay . . J2. X. H, 87
Trees .••••.••• ^. S* 88
Coal «f. 40
Duties in School E, T. 8. ^
The Cow E. H. 46
Poetry : The Nests of Birds .... Anon, 48
Cheese D, W. 60
Butter id. 62
The Lion • XT. C. 54
X CONTENTS.
PA6B
Po^ry: Willie and the Beeti . . . It. L. IT, 66
Honesty • ; . . .
. K B. H. 58
The Sheep «...
. E,H. 60
Wool
>
id, 63
Cotton . • • . .
t
. H.C. 65
Paper
. JF. jsr. 68
Mountains ....
. ILMcW. 70
Poetry : The Rainy Day " ,
f
. ILL.H, 72
Rivers
t
. R.McW. 74
Glass • • • . »
. 2>. W. 76
Chalk
id. 78
RilV ........
♦
. . . . jy. C. 80
The Uses of Animalfi •
• *
. . . . D. TT. 83
JPdetty : The Beggar Man . .
i
R,L.H. 85
A House • ...
• 2>. If. 87
The Seasons
» *
... ui 89
Poetry : Good Night . .
22. i. H. 91
. D. ^. 93
Coffee .
V *
. . . id. Qb
Sugar
, «
^ 1
«?. 97
Eandness to Animals . .
i
. E. B. H. 99
Poetry: Little Jim ..
. Edward Farmer 101
Jack Frost . .
, 1
. . E.T. 8. 103
* 1 4
id. 107
7%e same {GODcLuded) . .
» » i
1
«i 111
•
• ^
•
. ., ftf. 115
JI0 Initialed Lessom in this volume are Copyright, and aU rights fH
them are reserved by the ProprietorSf
LIST OP CONTRIBUTORS
TO THIS VOLUME.
RC.
H. C.
E. J. Y.
R. lit a»
E.H.
E. T. S.
D.W.
E. S« £[•
RMcW.
Mr. Chaitekton^ Tonhridge Wells.
Mr. H. CoHBES^ Poplar I^ee School
Miss Yabnold, Mentmore School^ Letgh-
ton Buzzard,
Miss HiBBERT, Edmburgh Academy,
Mr. E. HtKES, Middlesex Society^s School,
Cannon St., E,
Rev. £dwd. T. Stevens, B.A., Oxon^
Mr. D. WiLBDre, Orantham,
Mr. R B. Hewitt, Oxford.
Mr. R. McWiLLiAM, Crawford Street
School, S.E.
••
KuTB. — ^The Edifxsn wUX atteem it « Hrcnx if teacfaen wDl kindly
inf onn them of any poems in this book vfaidi liave been, or
may hereafter be, set to music, in ordar that they may be
Inentioned hera.
THE
USEFUL KNOWLEDGE BEADING BOOKS.
STANDABD I. (BOYS' SEBIES.)
THE SENSES
see-ing pret-ty fin-gers
hear-ing dan-ger gar-den
tast-ing cel-lar flow-ers
feel-ing child-ren af-ford
smell-ing friends plea-sure
beg-gar peo-ple thank-ful
We have five senses: these are seeing,
hearing, tasting, feeling, and smelling.
When people cannot see we say they are
blind. We are very sorry for the poor blind;
they cannot see any of the pretty things that
are around them, and thev are often in great
danger of being hurt. We ought, therefore,
to be very kind to them. One day a blind
beggar was walking along the street, and came
near a place where a cellar door was open.
He would have fallen into it, and been very
much hurt, had not a little boy pulled him
back.
I. B. B
2 USEFUL KNOWLEDGE BEADING BOOKS.
When any one cannot hear he is said to be
deaf. It is very sad to be deaf, for then we
do not know when we are called, and cannot
hear what our kind friends say to us* Most
children, too, who are bom deaf are also
dumb.
If you had a ripe rosy apple given you, you
would be pleased, and you would eat it, and say
it was very nice. Do you know why you can
tell that a thing is nice to eat ? It is because
you can taste it. There are very few people
who cannot taste what they eat.
Have you ever heard a blind man reading ?
You may have thought it very strange that
he could read, when he could not see. But
did you look at his fingers, and notice how
they moved along the lines of the page ? The
letters were all raised, and the poor blind man
could feel them with his fingers, and so could
read the book.
Just come with me into this pretty garden ;
here are all sorts of flowers. Take this rose
and look at it ; put it to your nose, and tell
me what you think about it; you say it is
sweet. You have not tasted it, but you mean
that it has a sweet smell. You smell by means
of your nose. I once knew a man who could
only say that flowers were very pretty ; they did
not afibrd him any more pleasure because he
could not smell them.
We see, then, with our eyes, hear with our
ears, taste with our mouth, feel with our
boys' first standard. . 3
hands, and smell with our nose. How thank-
ful we ought to be to God for giving us the
use of all our senses ! E. C.
BREAD.
bask-et
whole-some
e-nough
blank-et
crust-y
hun-gry
bak-ing
wait-ing
ov-en
car-ries
break-fast
wheat-en
batch- es
but-ter
quart-ern
' All hot ! all hot ! smoking all hot ! ' This is
the cry of a small boy who carries a large
basket with a thick blanket on the top of it.
What has he got that wants keeping warm
this fine summer morning? Here he is at our
gate, he is coming to the door. ' Any hot
rolls to-day, ma'am? Nice and hot, all hot,
smoking hot!' Ah, I see it is the baker's
lad, he is bringing round rolls for breakfast.
He and his master were up verj'^ early
making and baking bread. They have just
taken a batch of loaves out of the oven, and
the rolls along with them. I like the look of
the crisp, crusty loaves, and the rolls are very-
nice to eat, but neither hot rolls nor new
bread are so wholesome as bread a day old.
Give me a good firm loaf, and then I can cut
some all-round slices for the young folks that
are even now waiting at the breakfast table to
be served. There's little Tot sitting before
her basin of milk asking for a piece all crumb.
B 2
4 USEFUL . KNOWLEDGE BEADING BOOKS.
Tom, with his eye on the treacle pot, wants a
good all-rounder, and Willy prefers a nice
crust on which he can bestow lots of butter.
Very well, very well, my little birds, for once
you shall have your way, and take your
choice. Bread and milk, bread and treacle,
bread and butter, make up your minds and
speak out. Who is for milk, who says treacle,
who wishes for bread and butter? Sit still
and think a minute before you begin, and in
your hearts give thanks for your 'Daily
Bread.'
Will any one take any more? A small
piece for Tom ? Very well, if you want it you
shall have it. But what is this I spy under
the table? A half-eaten crust, surely. Who
threw it there ? Some one, I fear, who asked
for another slice after he had eaten enough.
Take care not to waste good food. * Waste
not, want not ' is an old saying and a good
one.
Here are some lines on the subject you may
learn by heart: —
' I must not throw upon the floor
The crust I cannot eat.
For many little hungry ones
Would think it quite a treat.'
What does the baker make the bread of,
and how does he make it? If you were to
peep into his bake-house you would see large
bins full of flour, ready for mixing with the
boys' first standard. 5
ferment or yeast, and water and a little salt.
After he has mixed these well together, he
kneads the whole mass into dough, which he
leaves for a time to lighten or rise. He then
cuts off piece by piece, again kneads it, forms
it into loaves, and pops it into his wide-mouthed
oven to bake.
When we think how much we depend on
bread for our daily fpod, we may well call it the
Staff of Life. Let us always be thankful
when we have it, and do our part to help those
who have it not.
' Give us this day our daily bread.'
H. C.
TRUTH.
for-sake
ta-ble
teach-es
mo-ment
serv-ant
pun-ish-ed
lep-er
cov-er-ed
catch-ing
a-greed
Bcold-ing
com-mit
Every boy or girl who may read this book
has heard of truth; and, I hope, tries to act
truth, as well as to speak it. Let us see what
the Bible says about truth. In that Holy
Book we may read these words : ' Let not
mercy and truth forsake thee ; bind them about
thy neck ; write them upon the table of thine
heart.' This verse teaches us to be always
truthful, and never for one moment even to
thmk of telling a lie.
We also read in the Bible about a servant
who told his master a lie ; and how God pun-
I
6 USEFUL KNOWLEDGE READING BOOK.
ished hill) by making him a leper. Now, a
leper is a man who is covered all over with
very bad sores, that no doctor can cure. No
one will go near a leper for fear of catching
the sores ; so this servant had to go and live
away from all his friends, and never got well
again.
Then there was a man who told Peter a lie,
and God made him drop down dead. After a
little while this man's wife came to Peter and
told him the same lie, and God sent sudden
death upon her too.
This man and his wife agreed to tell the
same lie, and God punished them both alike.
You may judge from this how much God hates
a lie.
Sometimes little children tell a lie to get
out of trouble, or to escape a scolding. This is
very wrong as well as very foolish ; for if their
parents or teachers never find out when they
teU a Ue, God knows it, and He will punish
them.
Very often, too, when a child has told one lie
he has to tell a second to prevent the first
from being found out. See how one fault
leads to another ! Even if you know you will
be punished, never tell a fie to hide a fault,
rather repent and confess it, and you will then
be less likely to commit the fault a^ain.
If you wish to be loved by God, ^eak the
truth. If you wifih to gain the love and respect
of men, never tell a lie. E. F. Y*
boys' first standard.
LITTLE WHITE LILY.
droop-ing wait-ing sun-shine
dress-ed shin-ing white-ness
crown-ed be-side hold-eth
thirst-y strong-er hap-py
Little white lily
Sat by a stone,
Drooping and waiting
Till the sun shone*
Little white lily
Sunshine has fed ;
Little white lily
Is lifting her head, ,
Little white lily
Said, ' It is good,'
Little white lily's
Clothing and food.
Little white lily.
Dressed like a bride,
Shining with whiteness.
And crowned beside.
Little white lily
Droopeth with pain,
Waiting and waiting
For the wet rain.
Little white lily
Holdeth her cup;
Rain is fast falling
And filling it up.
8 USEFUL KNOWLEDGE READING BOOKS.
Little white lily
Said, ' Good again ;
When 1 am thirsty
To have nice rain;
Now I am stronger,
Now I am cool;
Heat cannot burn me,
My veins are so full.'
Little white lily
Smells very sweet ;
On her head sunshine,
Rain at her feet.
* Thanks to the sunshine,
Thanks to the rain !
Little white lily
Is happy again ! '
G. Macdonald.
THE DOG.
teach-ing a-fraid mis-tress
strang-er al-though be-lieve
sauc-y shab-by pleas-ant
peo-ple ken-nel ram-ble
threat-en wist-ful staunch
* * Beg ! beg ! there's a good dog.' This was
what little Kate Sparkes was saying to her pet
spaniel as I passed by the door. She was
teaching him to stand on his hind legs, and to
put up his fore paws in a fiinny manner.
Every time he did it to please her she gave
him some biscuit, which he had no sooner
eaten than he stood up for a piece more.
boys' IIRST STANDARD. 9
He was a good-looking, curly-haired dog
about the size of a rabbit. As he was well-
fed, and well-cared for in every way, he looked
sleek and saucy, and I am bound to add that
he was quite as saucy as his looks. Let but
a stranger put his hand on the garden gate,
and Carlo, that was his name, would bark as
loud as he was able, and rush out at the new
comer, as if he meant to eat him, clothes and
all. But for all that Carlo was not a bad dog,
and didn't really bite people, as he seemed to
threaten so often to do. Perhaps, as he was
so small, he was afraid they would not notice
him if he did not make a great noise. Is it
not so sometimes with little folks? I fear it
is. Now although we could pardon such
bad manners in a dog, we expect better things
of boys and girls.
There was another dog I used to meet now
and again, who was not so weU off as Carlo.
The boys used to call him ragged Jem, because
his coat always looked ragged, shabby, and
dirty. I think he was dirty and shabby
because he had no kennel of his own, and was
obliged to sleep on door-steps and dust-heaps,
and as for being ragged, why, that was his
nature, he would have had rags for his coat,
and a head like a mop, even if Miss Sparkes
had been his mistress.
What struck Ine most about Jem was his
wistful look; no one owned him, and he owned
no one for master and friend. I verily believe,
10 USEFUL KNOWLEDGE READING BOOKS.
if he could have spoken, he would have asked
me more than once to take him home. And,
indeed, I might have done so; but had I not
two dogs already ? At home in the back yard
there was Towser, a blinking, bare-backed old
rascal, who wasted hours and hours of precious
time basking in the sun, or snoozing away in
his tub with his nose just peeping out. In-
doors on the hearth-rug was Myrtle, a lady of
high degree, clothed in a black silk dress and
tan-coloured stockings. It was certain I had
no room for doggy number three. But the
dog I had most regard for was a large sheep-
dog called Lion. Lion was no great beauty
to look at, but his broad forehead, and his
large hazel eye, told you at a glance what a
thoughtful old fellow he was. He used to look
feople hard in the face and make up his mind,
thought, whether he should like them or not.
At any rate he made up his mind very soon
to be friendly with me, and many a pleasant
ramble have I had through the fields, and
along the sea shore, with my staunch old friend,
and if need were, my protector, Lion.
H. C.
THE CAT,
kit-ty frol-ic quick-ly
catch-es en-joy fol-low
cun-ning per-chance trav-el
pre-tends per-haps cru-el
thouffht-ful in-stead rhyme
boys' first standard. 11
I should think there is hardly a boy or girl
to be found who has not had a game with
kitty. And what a fine playmate she is!
How she bounds after a cork tied to a string,
or darts up and catches your finger with her
paw as you slowly move it along your knee !
She is very sharp and cunning withal, is this
pussy. Just as you think she is getting tired
of the fun, and is not caring at all about your
finger, pat, she has it with a sharp claw just
put a little way out of her soft paw, to hold it
fast if you try to draw it away. Well and
good, if you let it remain, then she will not
hurt you; but if you quickly snatch it up,
you need not wonder if you get a scratch,
only do not blame puss for it, as it was your
fault, not her's. Then, again, sometimes she
pretends to bite, and the sharp points of her
teeth will just make a little mark, but will not
hurt you if you let her have her way.
How full of fun and frolic these little pussy-
cat folk are, to be sure ! They look mischief
all over, and seem to live only to enjov them-
selves. And so it is while they are young, but
by and by, when they become full-sized grown
up cats, they will be veiy grave and thought-
ful. Instead of running round and round
after their tails, they will sit by the fiA, or
bask in the sun, or by way of a change watch
at a hole for a mouse, or lie in wait for a stray
bird.
. Puss is a very careful mother. Should her
12 USEFUL KNOWLEDGE READING BOOKS.
kittens be in any danger, she will try to carry
them away one by one in her mouth to a
place of safety. Loving to be clean herself
she seems never tired of washing and making
them tidy too. When they are big enough to
romp, she plays with them, running and leap-
ing about like a mad thing, and when tired
her tail amuses them till they fall asleep
between her paws.
If you look at the eye of a cat in thie day time,
the middle part of it seems almost shut up,
but after dark it opens into a round ball, taking
in all the light it can collect. This is why
puss can see so well at night, and is able to
spy out and pounce upon any unlucky mouse
who may be going to a quiet cheese party
after the candles are put out, and the good
people of the house are in bed.
Cats are said to be more fond of the house
than of the people who live in it. This is
erhaps true when they are not treated well,
ut when they are kindly used, they will follow
those who feed and caress them, purring and
tr3dng in their way to say, * How glad I am to
see you ! * * Let me shake paws with you.' It
is a common saying that cats have nme lives,
because they so often escape when in danger,
but it would be very cruel and wrong to put
their lives in peril, or to torment them, because
we fancy they will in some way or other get
off unhurt.
Many stories have been told to show how
I
boys' first standard. 13
much sense cats have in finding their way back
to the home from which they have been taken ;
and there seems no reason to doubt thftt some
have returned firom places far distant to the
old house at home. There is a most famous
story about puss which you must read, if you
have not done so; I mean that about Dick
Whittington and his cat. H. C.
COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO !
morn-ing earl-y light
fight heard shed
comb fi-er-y hap-pen
flap-ping fu-ry hur-ry
ad-vice lov-ing boast
Cock-a-doodle-do
Was a merry boy;
To get up in the morning
Was his pride and joy ;
And to march before his hens
In the early light,
Crying, ' Cock-a-doodle-doo !
Who will come and fight? '
Cock-a-Leerie heard him
From the other shed,
Down came Cock-a-Leerie,
His comb all fiery red;
And such a fight did happen
As I'm sure I cannot tell,
The flapping and the fiiry.
And the hurry, all pell mell.
14 USEFUL KNOWLEDGE READING BOOKS.
And now, dear Kttle pupU,
I give advice to you,
"Rise in the morning early.
Like Cock-a-doodle-doo;
But be you kind and loving,
And good the whole day through,
But never boast, and strut, and fight,
Like Cock-a-doodle-doo. R. L. H.
THE PIG.
im-prov-ed neigh-bour butch-er
slop-ing cab-bage col-our
re-sult car-rots fla-vour
pleas-ant rel-ish whole-some
Come here, George, and look at the pig
again, and see whether you think he has
fown and improved since we bought him.
ou see we have put a new sloping slate roof
to his bedroom, to keep it dry and warm, and
his bed is as clean as fresh straw can be. The
outer part of his sty is paved with smooth
bricks, and the whole floor slants towards the
middle and drains into that hole in the gar-
den. The result of all this is that piggy is
as pleasant a neighbour as one could wish to
have. You see, too, that all the scales are gone
off his back, and that his skin is quite
smooth and glossy. He is putting his fore-
feet to the top of the sty, and grunting for us
to brush him, and he will stand quite still
while we are doing it. With a little trouble
BOYS' FIRST STANDARD. 15
a pig can be made as clean as a sheep, and
then his flesh is nice wholesome food.
But something else is wanted besides a
good sty and care, and that something is good
food. We boil up all the spare cabbage and
carrots and other things in the garden, and
these he eats with a relish. We also mix up
his meal with the liquor made in cooking, and
now and then give him a few peas to warm
him. In about a twelvemonth we shall put
him up to fatten, and then we shall feed him
on barley-meal and peas. We shall then kill
him at the proper time of the year, and his
flesh will supply us with pork and bacon for a
long time.
When the butcher has killed him, he wiU
put him into a tub of hot water to soften the
hair, and will then scrape it aU ofi^ with a blunt
knife. He will then hang him up by the heels
to cool, and on the next day come and cut him
up.
With the rough parts, such as the head, we
shall make brawn, and with the trimmings
we shall make pork pies. Some of the joints
we shall roast, and eat as fresh pork, and the
sides we shall soak in salt and put into a
tub of brine for future use. Of the hind
legs we shall make hams, by salting them
and having them dried. They will be hung
up in a bacon loft, and burning sawdust, or
something like it, will fill the room with
smoke, and colour the hams a fine clear brown,
16 USEFUL JiNOWLEDGE READING BOOKS.
and give them a very nice flavour. Most
people reckon them the best; part of the pig,
and when they are cooked we shall have a
treat.
There are very few parts of a pig which are
not eaten as food ; even the blood is mixed up
with other things, and eaten by some people
who have not a very dainty taste. Pork is not
wholesome during the hot months of May,
June, July, and August, that is, during the
months which have no *r' in them. The
Jews do not eat pork at all, and some Chris-
tians also object to it as likely to produce
disease; but well-fed pork seems to be as
harmless as other kinds of meat. E. H.
GOOD TEMPER.
wrong
right
once
pas-sion
pen-cil
fig-ure
in-stead
an-swer
trou-ble
brought
fourth
pres-ent
en-joy
earn-est
four-teen
We all like to have to do with boys and
girls who are not very soon put ou% who,
when things go wrong, do not make them
worse by flying into a passion, or sit down and
sulk, instead of trying to make them better.
* John, work these ten sums for me, and
Mary, do the same.'
John looks at the sums, thinks them very
hard, and makes up his mind at once that he
BOYS* FIRST STANDARD. 17
-will never be able to get them right Then, in-
stead of setting to work, he stares about, first
plays with his fingers, and then with his pen-
cil, and then at last, seeing his teacher is look-
ing at him, he works the first sum, and looks
for the answer. Is it right? No, three
figures wrong. John gets cross, and says he
shall never get them right. Then he begins
to sulk. ' I can't do them ; they won't come
right,' says he, and they don't come right, of
course ; would it not be a wonder if they did ?
Mary, who has the same sums to do, looks
at the first, and does not trouble herself about
the rest for the present. She, too, thinks it
rather hard, but instead of getting into a bad
temper, she works away at once. You may
see, if you look in her face, that she is trying
in earnest. Soon she has brought out her
answer. * Now ! let me see whether that is
right/ says Mary to herself as she turns to
the answers in her book and finds she has
three figures wrong. ' Why, dear me, I've
made a mistake. Let me see where it is. Ah,
I've found it; I've set down nine times three
are fourteen ; what could I have been thinking
about? Of course, that makes it all wrong*'
At once she rubs out all her figures from that
point, and works away again with more care
than before. * Now let me see whether I'm
right. Yes; just like the answer in the book.
That's one to me,' says Mary. * Well, number
two, what sort of a sum are you? I see you
I. B, C
18 USEFUL KNOWLEDGE READING BOOKS.
are a hard one. But I think I can do you, if I
try/ Down go the figures, no looking about
• the room, no playing with fingers. ' Now are
you right? Kight the. first time,' says she,
looking out the answer. ' That's two to me.*
All this time John is sulking over his number
one, because it did not come right at first..
So Mary works the third, and the fourth,
and the fifth, and so on with the rest, and
though they don't all come right at once,
she gets them right at the second or third
attepipt, and by the end of the lesson has
done them all. But John, sulky fellow,
because his did not. come right the nrst time,
lost his temper, and so has to stay in school
to work whilst Mary enjoys her well-earned
galeae with her school-fellows.
When you have work to do, set about it
with a good temper. If your parents or
teachers have to punish you for a fault, be sorry
you have done wrong, and try to improve ;
but don't be out of temper with those whose
duty it is to correct you. When you are
at play, whether you lose or win, keep your
temper. Some one miLst lose. If any one
injure you, and you have to reprove him for it,
keep your temper. A quiet reproof will do
him more good than if you were to get into a
passion., If you want to get out of trouble
th^t has come upon you, whether by your own
fault or not, keep your temper. For good
temper has won more battles than aiiything
3lse in this world. - E. Iv S.
BOYS* FfRST STAITDAIlT). 19
FISH. \
hol-i-day her-ring jAys-ic
fish-ing mack-er-el salm-on
siir-&ce ^x-cept sil-ver-y
fas*ten-ed be-tween mud-dy
isl-and slant-iiig salt-ed
catch-ing po-si-tion pick-led
tur-bot val-ue pre-serve
Many boys when they have" a holiday take
their fishing rods to the side of a stream, to
catch the fish that swim under the surface of
the water. They take with them a piece of
bread, or some flies, or anything that the fish
will eat, and they put this bait, as it is called,
on a hook which is fastened to one end of a
long line, the other end of which is tied to
the rod. The rod is held in the hand, while
the line and bait are thrown into the stream.
As soon as the fish takes the bait into its
mouth the hook remains there alsp, and the
fish is caught.
Fish is a very useful kind of food, and may
be had at all seasons of the year. It is found
in great numbers along the shores- of our' own
island. This is called salt-water fish, and a
great many men and boys earn their living
by catching it. They use very large nets
which they throw out into the sea from boats.
Most of their work is done at night, for very
few of the fish will enter the nets by day.
The chief salt-water fish used as food are
c2
90 USEFUL KKOWXiEDGE READINCh BOOKS.
the turbot, sole, cod, herring, sprat, and
mackerel.
The turbot is the most prized of all the flat
fish. It is taken with hooks and lines^ except
on the sand banks between the coasts of Eng-
land and Holland, where nets are used. The
sole is one of the very few fish that have eyes
on only one side of the head. It swims in
a slanting position, with its eyes towards the
top of the water. The cod is of great value
to us in many ways. Its flesh is eaten as food,
and from its liver is taken oil which is used
for physic. Herrings swim in shoals which
sometimes stretch four or five miles in length,
and three or four in breadth. Very fine nets
are needed to catch sprats, which are in season
in the winter. Mackerel are caught in large
numbers on the west coast of England.
Our chief fresh-water fish are the salmon,
the trout, and the eeL
The salmon is covered with bright silvery
scales. Great numbers are found in the rivers
of Scotland. The trout is found in shaded
streams; it has a silvery body with red and
black spots. The eel is in form like a serpent.
It is found in muddy waters, and is caught by
means, of a trap called an eel-pot.
Fish in a fresh state can only be kept for
a few days, but if it be dried, salted, or pick«>
led, it will keep a long time. Ice is often
used to preserve fish. E. C.
boys' first standabd. 21
EOBIN REDBREAST.
hmil-ing
faint-ly
si-lent
thrush-es
swal-lows
scar-let
yel-low
leath-ery
au-tumn
pinch-iTig
crick-et
whis-tle
^ranch-es
plum-ed
frost-y
Good bye, good bye to summer !
For summer's going fast;
The garden's lost its beauty,
The long warm days are past;
Our thrushes now are silent.
Our swallows flown away ;
But robin's here in coat of brown,
And scarlet breast-knot gay.
Robin ! robin redbreast !
0, robin dear !
Robin sings so sweetly
In the falling of the year.
Bright yellow, red, and orange.
The leaves come down in hosts;
The trees are Indian princes,
But soon they'll turn to ghosts.
The leathery pears and apples
Hang russet on the bough ;
It's autumn, autumn, autumn, late^
'Twill soon be winter now.
Robin, robin redbreast !
0, robm dear !
And what will this poor robin do?
For pinching, days are near*
22 USEFUL KNOWLEDGE BEADING BOOKS*
The fireside for the cricket,
The wheat-stock for the moose,
When trembling night winds whistle
And rnoau i^U round the house*
The frosty ways like iron,
The branchea plumed with snoW|
Alas ! in winter dead and dark,
TVhere can poor robin go?
Robin, robin redbreast !
0, robin dear !
And a crumb of bread for robin,
His little heart to cheer.
W. Allingham.
WATER
va-pour ftoUd fro^-en
as-cends liq-uid weath-er
mead-ows gas-eous sur-face
brim-ming put-ting thous-ands
The water of the sea is always salt, and in
some parts of the world there are also a few
salt-water lakes. Springs, too, exist, whose
water is made salt by passing through beds of
rock-salt in the earth.
Fresh water is formed from salt water in
this way ;-r-The heat of the sim causes vapour
to rise from the s^a in Just the sapci/e manner
as fire causes stean^ to rise from water. Some
of this vapour spreads througboiit the air, and
is the sooisture fr6m whicjh 4-ew i@ formed.
But it jftteQis^rv^ t6 prev'ent the;*scape of the
POTS* FIRST STANBARDi 2|
heat of the earth. It is said that if all mois*
ture could be withdrawn from the air for a
single night, everything would be frozen to
death bv the morning. But the greater
part of tne vapour from the sea ascends until
it comes to a part of the ait which is of its
Own weight, and there forms clouds. The
clouds float about, getting more and more
heavy^ until at last the air can support them no
longer. They then come back to the earth
again as fresh water in the form of rain.
Some of the rain water runs along the sur*
face of the ground, through the meadows^
among the trees and flowers, into the rivers,
and with them runs back to the ocean again.
Some sinks into the ground and is taken up by
trees and plants ; and after passing throuffh
Amgoe. L through their leLs ilto the .i.
Some of it is slightly changed by passing into
the earth, and becomes spring water, suited for
the use of men. And some sinks deep into
the earth, and forms large ponds there.
Even cold water contains some heat, and
when this heat is withdrawn the water turns
to ice. But when more heat is put into it, it
turns to steam. Water is the liquid form,
ice is the solid form, arid steam is the gaseous
form. In the reverse way, ice can be
turned to water by putting more heat into it,
and steam can be turned to water by taking
the heat out of it.
liVlien the vapour of water is frozen it turn^
24 USEFUL KNOWLEDGE READING BOOKS.
to pretty little crystals, and these join and
form flakjes of snow. Hail is rain that has
been frozen as it is falling towards the earth.
When it falls in the summer it is formed in
the upper parts of the air which are always
cold even in the hottest weather.
There is nothing which has worked such
great changes in the earth's surface as water.
It has carried away whole tracts of the surface
from one part of a country and spread them out
as fertile plains in other parts. Rivers, with
the mud brought down from the mountains,
have formed tongues of land that reach out
into the sea for many miles, and the sea has
wa&hed away whole districts along the coast.
It has formed beds and hills of chalk that reach
hundreds of miles. And it has formed even
beds of stone that are thousands of feet in
thickness. E. H.
THE MONKEY.
guin-ea coun-tries brought
know al-though ap-pears
dread -ful cou-ple gloss-y
twist-ing swing-ing piec-es
col-our pa-tient straight
My monkey's name is Atto, and he knows
his name as well as we know ours. He
was born in Guinea, one of the hottest coun-
tries in the world. When the black boy
brought him to me he was so small that I
boys' first standard. 25
could put him into my pocket, and now he is
more than half a yard high as he sits. See
what an odd-looking face he has, something
like an old man's. Although he is so pleased
to see us, yet he never laughs or smiles. He
appears to be very mild as he sits there look*
ing at us, but he sometimes gets in a dreadful
rage. But, poor fellow, he does not know any
better. Here, Atto, are some nuts for you.
He is very fond of all sorts of nuts, and fruits,
and cake. You see that he has put a couple
of nuts into each side of his mouth as there
are more than he can hold in his hands. He
has nice glossy silky far, and when he dies
we shall make a monkey muff of his skin.
When he first came here his tail was twice as
long as it is now, but every winter a joint or
two gets frost bitten and comes off. He uses
his fingers very nimbly, and you see what
pretty little hands he has, with thumbs just
like ours. He has thumbs also on his hind
feet^ you see, and can hold things with them
just as well as with his hands. When he
walks he goes on all four hands, but he does
not often walk on the ground in his wild state.
He passes his time in the trees, and there, of
course, his four hands are of the greatest use
to him. Some monkeys use their tail as a
fifth hand, twisting it round a branch, and
swinging down to the bough below them.
Monkeys are of all sizes from six inches to six
feet high. The very large ones are said to
26 USEFUL KNOWLEDGE READING BOOKS.
walk upright sometimes, and to be so strong
that they can break down small trees to get at
tlie fruit on the top of them. They are very
savage indeed, and when they fight they take
the greatest delight in tearing each other to
pieces. Small monkeys go about in flocks,
and a party of monkeys in the trees wiU make
as much noise as a party of boys in a play-
ound. They differ as much in colour as
ey do in size ; some are black, some brown,
some grey, and some nearly white. A monkey
without a tail is called an ape. Monkeys are
very full of mischief, but they are very patient.
When we wish to amuse Atto^ we sometimes
^ive him a piece of string tied in a hundred
knots and tangled into a ball, and he will untie
every knot and get the string out straight. If
ou give him an apple that is too large for the
ars of his cage, he will put his hand through
and hold the apple outside, and then bite it all
round until he can get it inside. If yoii put
a stick into his cage he will not allow you to
get it again, but will put it near the bars
and pretend to take no notice of it; but as
soon as you attempt to take it he pounces upon
it, and moves it a little further away.
I dare say you have heard of the cunning
monkey who wanted to get out of the fire
the chestnuts he had been roasting, and find-
ing it rather warm work, took the cat's paw
to pull them out with. E. H.
I
boys' first standabd* 27
NUTTING.
au-tumn love-ly climb-ed
beam-ing pur-pk stream-let
mur-mur-ed clus-ters ri-pen-ed
tum-bled aing-itig joy*ous
Little WiUie Wilkin
Went out a-nutting gay,
With his school-bag on his back,
One lot^ely autumn day ;
And then he climbed the low trees,
And then he climbed the high,
Away amid the branches,
Neo-th the blue and beaming sky.
The robin sang beside him,
And the blackbird whistled loud.
And the lark was high above him,
Near a blue and purple cloud ;
And a gentle streamlet murmured,
Through amid the trees^
And through amid the green leaveB
Sighed tibe autumn breeze.
What a happy boy was Willie !
'Mong the clusters rich and browi;i
. Of ripened hazel nuts
That tumbled, tumbled down,
And dropt amid the briers and ferns,
Now one, now Iwo, now three j
Ad happy httle Willie
Shook the hazel tree.
... , - • •- • 's ' ' ■ - : r\ i 1
^8 USEFUL KNOWLEDGE READING BOOKS.
Down came Willie Wilkin
Happy as a king^
And as all the birds were singing
Willie too began to sing.
With nuts his little school-bag
Was full as ftdl could be ;
How joyous is the shady wood,
How green the hazel-tree! R. L. H.
THE HORSE.
pa-tience ex-pense pro-duce
con-stant mead-ows slen-der
har-ness car-rots mus-cles
re-quires chest-nuts sold-ier
The horse is so useful to man that he is
bred and trained with^ the greatest care hi
almost every country in the world. He is
always willing to work when he is healthy and
well fed, and if treated kindly seems to take
delight m doing as his owner wishes him to
do. His great strength and length of wind
make him able to go a long distance, and do a
great deal of work in a day.
But he does not know how to work until he
has been taught, and it reauires great patience
and skill to teach him. His trainers are very
careful not to frighten him or spoil his temper,
and by constant care they teach him to go in
harness, and to allow people to ride on his
back.
He requires a warm, airy, well-drained
boys' first standard. 29
stable, and a good bed of clean straw, for he
takes cold almost as quickly as we do, and
when ill he has to be cured at great expense.
After his day's work is done he requires to be
washed, combed and fed, and then he is ready to
refresh himself for the next day. When he is
in the stable he is fed on oats, beans, chaff and
hay, and he is very fond of carrots, clover,
and green stuff. But when over- worked or
unwell he has to be turned out into the
meadows, and there he feeds and enjoys him-
self in the fresh country air, and quickly im-
proves in health.
Horses are of many colours, black, white,
brown, bay, chestnut; and of many kinds,
race horse, hunter, charger, cart horse, saddle
horse.
The English race horse is the best horse in
the world, and only by the greatest care taken
for years have people been able to produce
him. He is bred only from the best horses,
and as soon as he is bom, he is taken in hand
and trained by degrees to run at the highest
speed. The best race horses will go at the
rate of nearly a mile a minute for a short time.
He has a well-formed body without being fat,
large muscles, sound legs and feet, a slender
head, a clear bright eye, and a coat like satin.
The hunter must possess both strength and
fleetne^s. He has large muscles and a big bony
frame, and such length of wind that he is
sometimes able to go forty miles with the
30 USEFUL KNOWLEDGE READING BOOKS.
hounds without stopping, clearing hedges and
ditches, leaping or swimming brooks, and then
coming in at the death of the fox.
The charger or soldier^s horse is stout of
body, and able to carry a great weight. He is
taught to obey the slightest hint from the
hand or the knee of his rider, to charge at full
gallop, and to pull up or wheel round on the
mstant, not to be startled at the sound of
music or firing, and to stand as still as a
statue.
The cart horse is bred large and heavy, as
he has to pull great weights. The carriage
horse is tall and long, with a stately step and
even pace. The saddle horse is strong, light
and steady, and is sometimes nearly as ' well
bred as a race horse. E. H*
KINDNESS.
ex-plain help-ed knives
broth-ers chanc-es sur-pris-ed
break-fast some-times your-self
hun-gry peo-ple know-ing
I wish to-day to talk to you about kindness.
Do you know what kindners is? I will tell
3^ou.
- Kindness is doing to others what you would
like them to do for you. Let me explain this
more fiiUy. Suppose you had to do a very
long sum, and you were afraid you would not
havft time for any plav; if your playmate
boys' FIRST STANDARD. 81
came and helped you, would you not say lie
was very kind ?
Or, if some morning you had to do some
work before school, and the little boy next
door came to help you, so that you might not
be late, would you not say he was kind?
Now both these children woidd be doing what
they would like to have done for them; there-
fore we say both of them would be kind.
You all know that it is your duty to be
kind to your brothers and sisters, and I think
some of you are, but you must also be kind to
other children ; in fact, you must be kind to all.
If you were to count up all the chances you
have of being kind, you would be surprised
how many you have every day. Let us try
to count a few of them.
You might play with baby while mother
gets the breakfast ready. Baby would like
this, and so. would your mother. You might
help your sister to get the little ones ready
for school. This would be a great kindness to
sister.
Then when you go to school you might take
little brother along with you, and hold his
hand, that he does not fall down; or if he
should fall down, as he will sometimes, you
might pick him up, rub the dirt off his hands,
and give him a kiss.
You have also a great many chances in
school of being kind to those who are in the
same class as yourself, and sometimes to those
32 USEFUL KNOWLEDGE READING BOOKS.
who are not in the same class. When you
are at play, you might lend your bat or ball
to another child who has not got one ; or you
might play in some game which the others are
very fond of; or if you see a child looking
very hungry, you might give him a piece of
your lunch.
These are only a few of the ways in which
you may be kind. You must try to find out
the rest for yourselves. And you will see that
when you are kind to other people you not
only make them feel very happy, but you feel
happy yourself in knowing that you have done
your duty. E. J. Y.
THE GOAT.
act-ive
charri-ois
de-light
i-bex
pas-ture
coun-try
mount-ain
pleas-ant
fa-mous
whole-some
mis-chief
re-treat
chal-lenge
feign-ing
fix)l-ic
In form the goat is very like the sheep, but
it has long hair on its body instead of thick
wool, and its horns are bent back from the
head, instead of being twisted, as in the case
of horned sheep. The male also has a long
tuft of hair hanging down from his lower jaw
something like a man's beard. Goats are
much bolder, and more active than sheep.
They delight in hilly pastures, whex'e they
can rcUmb.irom rock to rock, and crop the
boys' first standakd. 33
sweet mountain herbage. Rarely does a goat
lose his footing, or miss his mark when he
takes a leap, nor does he seem to know what
fear is as he stands on some giddy height, or
runs swiftly along the very edge of a steep
cliflF. There are many sorts of goats, the
ibex and the chamois being two very famous
kinds, which are found wild in the Alps.
Men hunt them for the sake of their flesh and
skins and horns. In our country goats are
kept for their flesh, which is good for food, and
for their milk, which, with bread, forms very
wholesome diet for children. The young of
the goat is called a kid. How pleasant it is
to see the kids frolic about on the hill-side !
Now they will charge each other full tilt, with
heads down/ as if they meant to do mischief.
Again they wheel about, caper round, and
beat a retreat only to prepare for a fresh onset.
Grown up goats will butt with their heads
and attack men or each other if they are teased
or are angry, or see any one challenge them
by feigning to butt at them.
There is a story told of a farmer, whose
goat, Billy, used to run about in doors and
out just as he pleased. One day the farmer
was having a quiet nap in his arm-chair when
Billy walked in to have a look round. Here
he found his master snoring loudly, andbobbing
his head up and down, little dreaming of what
was in store for him. Billy eyed him for a
short time and then made up his mind that
I. B. D
34 USEFUL KNOWLEDGE READING BOOKS.
the moving of the head up and down was
meant as a challenge to abutting match. This
he very gladly accepted, and drawing back a
few paces' he rushed at the drowsy old farmer
and tumbled him backward on the floor^ chair
and aU.
I have also heard of a goat who seeing him-
self in a mirror, forthwith charged the enemy,
and broke both his own head and the looking-
glass. There is, however, a third story of the
goat from which children may learn a useful
lesson. Two goats met on a bridge which
was so narrow as not to afford room for pass-
ing; so one lay down, and let the other walk
over his body, after which he got up and
trotted across in safety. This was much better
than fighting, and perhaps causing the loss of
one or boUi lives in the stream below.
H. C.
THE ELEPHANT,
el-e-phant
grate-ful
show-elr
tramp-ling
pluck -ing
mo-tion
crack-ling
fan-ninff
col-our
sap-ling
lan-guid ,
for-est .
grass-es
wav-ing
teas-ing
mpling his
path through
wood and
brake
And canes, which crackling fall before his
way,^
On comes the elephant.'
boys' first standard. 35
These lines tell us about the elephant mak-
ing his way through the higli grass ibnd oaaes
and tangled woods in order to reach the rirer-
side to drink. His body is so huge and heavy
that small trees and bushes, brambles, cailesf
and tall stiff grasses, are trodden quite flat
beneath his great broad feet. Although only
one elephant is spoken of, yet it is very rarely
that they go about singly or in pairs ; more
often they are found together in herds of
twenty or thirty and upwards. It is no
wonder, therefore, that in their march through
the forest the canes and saplings crackle and
fall before their way. Indeed, they make a
wide open road by whieh they may be tapaeked
for iniles.
Elephants are found in hot moist countries,
such as parts of Africa and India, and not far
from rivers, where trees and shrubs, and maiiy
kinds of plants abound, and where a conbtant
supply of water is sure.
They feed on grasses and on theyoimg leaves
and twigs of trees and shrubs, which they are
able to gather with their trunks. And what
a strange yet useful member is this trunk ! It
is long and tapering, ending in something like
one's fore-finger, and can be moved up and
dbwn and to the right or left at the will of
the owner. When he lifts it up you can see
two round holes at the end of it. In fact it
is hollow, and can be filled with water to pour
dowii the elephant's throat when he is thirsty,
d2
33 USEFUL KNOWLEDGE READING BOOKS.
or to throw over hk body to cool himself
when he is too warm. With it he can pick up
anything as small as a pin, root up a young
tree, or break off a great bough to fan himself
with.
The lines I have quoted go on to say some-
thing about this : —
* Lo ! from his trunk uptum'd, aloft he flings
The grateful shower ; and now
Plucking the broad-leaved bough
Of yonder pahn, with waving motion slow
Fanning the languid air,
He waves it to and fro.'
Though the colour of the elephant is mostly
a blackish brown, yet white, ones are some-
times to be met witn in parts of Asia. These
are thought a great deal of, and when caught
and tamed, are dressed in gay trappings on
sacred and other great days, and only the king
and men of high estate are allowed to ride on
them.
Who would like to have a ride through
the forest on an elephant ? I think I hear you
say, * I should, and I, and I.' Boys and girls
who may chance to see a real live elephant at a
show may perhaps get a ride on his back. If
so, they must be careful not to tease him, as
he is soon made angry.
I once saw a little boy hold out a cake to
an elephant, and then snatch it away again.
This he did two or three times till the beast
boys' first standard. 37
became angry, and taking away the boy's
cap trod it to pieces with his great feet. It
was as well for the boy that his head was
not inside of his cap when it was taken. I
hope none of my little readers take delight in
teasing dumb creatures. H. C.
COME TO THE BURN AND PLAY.
glad-some re-joic-es beau-ty
plash-ing crow-flow-er mead-ow
per-fume flow-ers gush-ing
gath-er peb-bles bright-en
Come to the bum and play, Willie,
The sun is shining bright,
And the happy little fishes
Leap in the gladsome light,
And all the world rejoices
In the beauty of the day,
So come, dear brother Willie,
To the plashing bum and play.
The broom is hanging o*er it
In all its golden hue,
And by it blooms the crow-flower
Witn deep and lovely blue ;
And from yonder meadow comes
The perfume of the hay ;
So come, my brother Willie,
. To the plashing burn and play.
88 USEFUL KNOWLEDGE READIXG BOOKS.
0, how I love the flowers.
The daisy and wild-rose,
The ffowan and the butter-cap.
Where the gushing wat^r floi^s !
And how I love the months
Of merry June and May !
Come, darling brother Willie,
To the plashing bum and play.
And we will gather pebbles
Where the waters ever sing,
And we will play at hide and seek
Where honey-suckles cling.
come, for flowers and sunshine
Brighten all the way,
So come, my brother Willie
To the plashing burn and play.
R. L. H.
TREES.
beau-ty au-tumn ob-taia .
for-eign c]aest-nut sup-ply
blos-soms ap-proach stom-ach
doc-tor chief-ly con-vey
Trees are very pleasing to the eye whilst
they are growing, and of the greatest use
after they are cut down. Even some of our
English trees, suqh as the oak, the chestnut,
and the beech, have great beauty of form, and
we have only to glance at a tract of couxitry
without trees to show us the value of them in
a landscape. But for perfect beauty of shape
F'
boys' first standard. 39
we must look to foreign trees with their long
slender stems, their curving branches, their
graceful drooping leaves, and their blossoms of
the brightest colours.
We have only to name a few of the pro
ducts of trees to show us at once how useful
they are. The oak, the beech, the elm, and
the teak tree give us the finest timber ; and
both native and foreign trees supply us with
the choicest fruits. The maple gives us sugar ;
india rubber is the juice of one tree, and gutta •
percha that of a second; and such a number
of things are got fi-om the palm tree, that the
people of countries where it grows can furnish
their houses and get food enough to live on
from that tree alone. The bark of the oak is
used in tanning, and that of^ some foreign
trees gives doctors some of their finest drugs.
Trees are of all shapes and sizes. Many of
those found in cold countries, with their roots,,
stems and branches, are not so large as the
palm of a child's hand, while some of those in
hot countries grow to a height of nearly three
hundred feet.
All trees lose their leaves at some time of
the year. Most of our native trees shed them
in autumn arid renew them in spring. But
some of them, like the laurel and the ivy, keep
their old leaves on until their new ones come,
and are therefore green all the year round.
These are called evergreens. When winter
comes on the cold kills the small fibres on
40 USEFUL ICNOWLEDGE READING BOOKS.
the roots of trees, which cannot then get
enough moisture out of the earth to supply
them with sap. The leaves therefore decay
and fall off. But at the approach of spring
the fibres grow again, and the trees are able
to obtain as much sap as they require, and the
new leaves grow. Trees obtain their food
chiefly from me air, and the sap serves to con-
vey the food formed by the leaves to every
part of the tree.
All trees spi'ing from a small germ found in
the seed. When the seed is put into the
ground the germ sprouts, and obtains its
supply of food from the seed until it grows
strong enough to form food for itself. I'he
roots keep it firmly fixed in the ground, and
as it cannot move about to seek its food, the
air brings a supply to it. Trees have a body,
limbs, and veins just as we have. They take
in food through their leaves just as we take it
into our stomachs, and the sap carries their
food to every part of their bodies, j ust as our
blood conveys the food through our veins to
very part of ours. E. H.
. COAL,
val-ue hun-dred be-neath
im-mense con-stant pil-lars
sup-ply en-gines ex-plodes
pos-sess ma-chines char-coal
We can hardly speak too strongly of the
value of coal, and we may safely say that
boys' FIRST STANDARD. 41
without it the world would not be what it is
at present. It forms an immense mass of
heat and light, stored up ages and ages ago,
ready for the time when the supply of woo(l
shall have become small, and the demand
for fuel very great. During the last five
hundred years it has been the chief source of
heat for the English people, and yet we still
possess a supply for thoupands of years to
come. And besides this great store of fuel at
home, other countries have beds of coal hun-
dreds of times as large as the whole of Eng-
land. Only eighty years ago the most famous
cities in the world had nothing better to light
them by night than oil lamps; now the small-
est towns are bright with gas. There is a con-
stant demand for coal in every household, and
without it engines, steamboats, and machines
of all kinds would be useless.
Coal is always found in the same beds in
the earth, but of course these beds are not
always at the same depth below the surface.
A bed of coal is almost always laid slanting,
so that sometimes one edge of it is at the top
of the ground, while the other is found at a
depth of hundreds of yards. The greatest
depth yet reached in digging for coal is twelve
hundred yards. When a bed of coal is to be
worked, a deep hole, called a shaft is bored in
the earth, until the coal is reached. The whole
bed is then worked out, and the shaft is after-
wards sunk deeper to reach the next bed.
42 USEFUL KNOWLEDGE READING BOOKS.
Five or six beds are often found beneath each
other. When the shaft has been sunk deep
enough, the miners are let down in an iron
cage by an engine placed at the top of the pit.
They then set to work to dig out the coal,
bring it to the bottom of the shaft, and pile it
up in waggons which the engine lifts to the
top. When the bed of coal is thin, the miners
dig out the rock which supports it, and allow
the whole bed to a breadth of some yards to
fall by its own weight. But when the bed is
thick, they blow it up with gunpowder, leaving
strong pillars of coal to support the roof above.
As the workings get farther and farther from
the shaft, roads are made and rails are laid
down, and the coal is drawn to the shaft in
wagons by horses. Every pit has to be sup-
plied with fresh air, and almost every one
requires an engine to be at work night and
day pumping out the water which collects
in it.
Sea coal is dug in the north of England
and in South Wales, and is so called because
it is nearly all sent by sea to London and the
other towns that can be reached by ships. It
is very bright, is full of gas, and bums with
a dark ash. Inland coal easily splits and burns
mth a white ash.
Gas is made by heating coal in closed iron
vessels, and making the vapour pass through
pipes to be made pure and to be stored at the
ijas-house. Gas explodes when mixed with ten
e-nough
teach-ers
ques-tion
fel-lows
at-tend
leam-ing
in-struct
care-less
oc-curs
hin-ders
pro-vide
clev-er
o-bey
al-low-ed
BQYS' FIRST STANDARD. 43
times its own weight of air. Coke is, the cin-
ders formed from the coal in making gas.
Charcoal is not coal at all, but wood burnt
without a supply of air. E. H.
DUTIES IN SCHOOL.
young-est
re-quires
re-ceive
dis-turb
pro-gress
pre-vents
par-ents
All children who are old enough to go to
school are old enough to have duties to do.
* What, such little ones as we ? ' some of
you may ask.
Yegi, such little ones as you.
'But what are duties?' may be the ques-
tion of some of the youngest.
Duties are those things you ought to do.
You owe some duties to yourselves, others to
your fitthers. and mothers, others to your
brothers and sisters, others ^to your teachers
and school-fellows, others to God; and you
cannot do your duty to Him unless you do
your duty to them, for this is a great part of
what He requires .of you.
Now, listen whilst I tell you some of the
duties which- you owe in school.
First then, as you all know, you are sent to
44 USEFUL KNOWLEDGE BEADIK6 BOOKS.
school to learn what will be useful to you now
as children, and in after years as men and
women.
You must therefore do all you can to learn
these things. Attend to your teacher, so that
you may bear in mind what is taught. For
your nunds are not quite like boxes. Your
teacher may put in a box what he pleases, but
he cannot put learning into your minds, un-
less you open them to receive it, and you
must keep it safe when once you have got it.
This is a part of your duty to your teacher,
who takes pains to instruct you, to your
parents who send you to school to learn,
and to your class-fellows who will be kept
back in their learning if you are careless and
waste your teacher's time by wanting to be
told the same thing over and over again.
Then you must always be in good time at
school, for when you are late, you lose your own
lessons, disturb the order of the school, and
get into a very bad habit.
Of course you should never be absent from
school without good cause, for when you are
away you lose the teaching given in your
class. If this occurs often, your teacher will
have either to put you into a lower class, or
keep in it a child who is too backward for it.
This hinders the progress of the others, and
is clearly unfair to them.
I am sure I hardly need tell you that you
should always.be clean and neat. Although
boys' first standard. 45
you may neither ha\ e nor want fine clothes,
you should try to keep tidy those which your
parents provide for you, and it is not nice
ibr either your teacher or your class-fellows
to have to sit near dirty children.
You must obey your teacher at once when
you are told to do or not to do a thing. This
is^ in fact, the first duty you have to do in
school, and if you do this well, all the rest will
foUqw.
Bear in mind that what your teacher tells
you is for your good, though you may think
it very hard that he will not let you talk a
little to the boy who sits near you, or go out
of your place just for one minute, or play with
your fingers, or eat fi'uit or sweets, or do any
other little thing of the sort. These may not
be wrong at home or in your playground, but
they are very wrong in school, because they
prevent the lessons from going on well, and
rob yourself as well as others. Would you
ever become wise or clever, think you, if you
\Yent to a school where the children were
allowed to talk, play, run about, eat, or be
idle when lessons are going on? I am sure
none of you would really like such a school.
And what would your parents think of it ?
E. T. S.
46 USEFUL KNOWLEDGE READING BOOKS.
THE COW.
cat-tie gal-Ions
weath-er
mead-ows stom^ach
han-dle
for-eig'ii liq-uid
pres'-ent
im-mense swal-lows
soure-es
thous-ands comb
calf
The cow, both alive and dead,
. is one of the
chief sources of our supply of food. When
she is living she gives us mUk, cream, butter,
and cheese ; and after she has been killed, her
flesh is eaten, and is called beef. Her skin is
tanned and made into leather, and her horns,
bones, and hoofs are used for making cups,
combs, glue, and other useful things.
The chief kinds bred in this country are the
famous shorthorns, the Sussex, the Devon,
the Scotch, and the Welsh cattle. Whole
herds of red and black cattle may' be seen
feeding in the meadows of Sussex^ and Devon ;
and thousands of oxen are every yeai* bred in
Scotland, and sent over to- Ireland to graze.
Immense herds of beasts are also sent to Eng-
land from foreign countries in swift stedmers.
Although the voyage is not very long^ they
are said to suffer very much from thirst and
fiickiiess. . .
Both in town and country cows are kept in
immense numbers solely for the sake of their
milk. In London, and other large towns, they
are kept and fed in stables, and a cow-keeper
often has as many as from one hundred to two
hundred cows. After they have had a calf,
B0Y3' FIRST STANDARD. 47
they require to be milked twice a day, morn-
ing and evening. Milk is used very much in
many kinds of food. When cream is wanted
the milk is. put into wide shallow dishes in a
cool place, and, in a few hours, all the oily
beads rise to the top in the form of cream,
which can be taken off by itself. What is left
behind is skimmed milk.
When butter is to be made the cream is
put by until there are some gallons of it.
Then it is put into a churn, and the handle
being turned, the cream is beaten by the flaps
of the chum until lumps of butter are formed.
In warm weather, the butter is sometimes
formed in half an hour ; but in winter, the
chum has to be turned for several hours. The
butter is taken out of the chum and well
beaten, to get all the drops of milk out of it.
Then it is salted a little, and made up into
pate of fresh butter, or mixed with more salt,
and put into tubs as salt butter. The liquid
left in the chum is butter-milk. Much of the
butter sold in the shops comes from Dorset.
Dutch butter comes from Holland.
When cheese is to be made, some rennet
from the stomach of a calf is put into the milk,
and this causes it to form into curds, leaving
behind the liquid called whey. The curds are
taken out, pressed into moulds, and treated
in other ways with great care, to make good
cheese, 'the best English cheeses are Cheshire
and Stilton; but some very good cheese now
comes from foreign countries.
48 USEFUL KNOWLEDGE READING BOOKS.
When the cow is feeding in the meadows
she bites off the grass and swallows it ivith
very little chewing. After she has filled her
first and second stomachs, she leaves off feed-
ing, and the food is brought back to her
mouth, and is well chewed ; she then swallows
it again into her third stomach, and thence it
passes into her fourth and last. This is called
chewing the cud, and I dare say you have
often seen her doing it* when she is lying
down in the field. Sheep, goats, deer, and
some other animals, also chew the cud. The
balls of hair found in her stomach are formed
of the hair which she licks off herself or her
calf and swallows. E. H.
THE NESTS OF BIRDS.
sky-lark
chaf-finch
to-geth-er
shad-y
crev-ice
sum-mit
a-ronnd
cuc-koo
black-bird
i-vi-ed
moss-jr
spar-row
feath-er
lap-wing
spot-ted
mar-tm
be-neath
warm-ly
care-less
mag-pies
leaf-less
The sky-lark's nest among the grass
And waving com is found ;
The robin's on a shady bank.
With oak leaves strewn around.
The wren builds in an ivied thorn,
Or old and ruin'd wall ;
The mossy nest so covered in,
You scarce can see at all.
boys' first standard, 49
The martins build their nests of clay
In rows beneath the eaves ;
The chaffinch builds with moss and hair^
And not a crevice leaves.
The cu6koo makes no nest at ^11;
But through the wood sbe Strays,
Until she finds one snug and warm,
And there her eggs she lays.
The sparrow has a nest of hay,
With feathers warmly lined ;
The ringdove's careless nest of sticks
On lofty trees we find.
Rooks build together in a wood,
At the summit of a tree ;
The owl will build inside a barn.
Or where it cannot see.
The blackbird's nest of grass and mud
In bush and bank is found ;
The lapwing's darHy spotted eggs
Are laid upon the ground.
The magpie's nest is made with thorns
In leafless tree or hedge ;
The wild-duck and the water-hen
Build by the water's edge.
Birds build their nests from year to year
According to their kind ;
Beauty marks some, and neatness some, *
And simpler ones we find, •
I. 2. G
50 USEFUL KNOWLEDGE READING BOOKS.
The habits of eafch little bird^
And all its wondrous skill,
Are surely taught by God Himself^
And guided by Bus will.
'
CHEESE.
farm-ers^
quite
re-qiiire
strange
poor-est
square
be-comes
cream
press-ed
man-y
pro-duce
weight
chief-ly
ren-net
Ched-dar
Stil-ton
stoin-ach
Der-by
Che-shire
steep-ing
squeeze
Cheese is made from milk by the farmers
in many parts of England, and also in other
countries. It seems strange that such solid
hard food can be made from milk, but of
course there is a great deal to be done to it
before it becomes cheese.
The first thing is to turn the milk into
curds and whey ; this is done by putting
mto it a liquor called rennet. Kennet is
got from the stomach of the calf, by steep-
ing it, with sweet herbs and spices, in hot
water. It is sour, and changes the milk, if
fresh, at once. If the milk is not fresh from
the cow, it will require warming before it will
change. The whey is strained off, and the
curds are broken up into small pieces, and
put into a cheese vat. The vat is a box,
*ther round pr square, with holes near the
• 1 t •
boys' first standard. 51
bottom ; it is the exact size and shape that
the cheese is to be made. The curds are piled
up above the top of the vat, so that, when the
lid is pressed on tight, some of the whey that
is still mixed with the curds may be pressed
out at the holes. It is then put under a
cheese-press, or heavy weight, which squeezes
all the whey from it. Great care must be
taken to get it quite dry, or the cheese will be
spoiled. It is taken out of the press to be
salted and turned, and is put back again, and
left there for half a day. The cheese must
then be put on a shelf for a long time, to get
dry and firm, and should be turned over
every day.
There are many sorts of cheese, which are
known by the names of the places or counties
where they are chiefly made, or where they
were made first. Stilton and Cheshire cheeses
are rich; those made in Suffolk and the north
of England are poor. The better sorts of
cheese are made fi-om new milk ; other kinds,
not quite so good, are made of milk after some
of the cream has been taken off. The poorest
sort is made of skimmed milk, that is, milk
from which all the cream has been taken to
make butter. Those farmers who make the
best cheese do not supply any butter; and
those who make butter do not produce good
cheese. The richest kind of cheese is that
called Stilton cheese, which is made of new
milk, to which cream has been added. It is
s2
6^2 USEFUL KNOWLEDGE BEADING BOOKS.
kept in the drjdng room two years, to improve
its taste. Cream cheeses are made like the
Stilton cheese, but they are eaten while new.
Some of the best kinds of cheese, besides
those already spoken of, are Cheddar cheese,
Cheshire cheese, and Derby cheese.
In some countries, cheese is made from the
milk given by the goat, the sheep, and the
reindeer. D. W.
BUTTER.
)leas-ant
lurt-fiil
twelve
li-quor
pnr-pose
wash-ed
chum-ing
ves-sel
car-rots
tiurd-ly
bar-rel
Cam -bridge
fall-en
tum-ing
Dor-set
pour-ed
o-pen-ed
Es-sex
dai-ry
mar-bles
Suf-fblk
Butter is made of the richest part of milk,
which is called cream. It is a wholesome and
pleasant food when fresh and sweet; but
when old or badly made, it is not only bad
to the taste, but also hurtful to the health.
To make butter from milk there are three
things to be done : — ^first the skimming, next
the churning, and thirdly the making up.
When the milk is brought in fresh from the
cows, it is strained to get out any dirt or hairs
that may have fallen into it. It is then poured
into large shallow pans, with a little hot water.
This is done to make the cream rise to the
boys' first standard. 53
top. These pans are kept in a very cool
room, called a dairy, and kept quite still for
twelve hours or more, till the cream floats on
the top ; it is then taken off. This is called
skimming.
The cream is put into a pan, and stirred, or
changed about, once a day, till the time when
it is to be made into butter. When there is
enough cream for the purpose, it is put into a
churn, which is a vessel like a barrel. By
turning the churn round many times, the
cream is nearly all changed into butter in
about half an hour. When the churn is opened
the butter is found in lumps, sometimes the
8ize of marbles, sometimes much larger.
The cream is not all changed into butter ;
the thin part of it which remains liquid is called
buttermil^. This is drained off and given to
pigs. The butter is then taken out, and
washed in clean water, three or four times, to
free it from any buttermilk that may be left in
it. A little salt is now added, and worked
well into the butter with the hand. It is then
made up into pats, pounds, or half-pounds for
sale ; this is called fresh butter. Salt butter
is made by mixing more salt with it. This
kind is packed in tubs, and will keep good a
longer time than fresh butter.
When cows are fed on fresh grass, good
hay, and other sweet food, they give rich milk,
from which first-rate butter can be made. If
they eat bad food, such as May-weed, the
54 USEFUI* KNOWLEDGE READING BOOKS.
butter made from their milk has a bad taste.
Ill winter, when grass is scarce, cows are
fed with turnips and hay. The butter made
then is almost white, and to make it look
yellow, as in summer, juice squeezed from
carrots is sometimes put into the churn with
the cream. Though this juice gives a deep
<x)lour, it does not at all injure the butter.
The counties of England most noted for
good butter are Cambridge, Dorset, Essex,
Suffolk, and York. l\ W.
THE LION.
im-mense
shag.gy
fierce
de-stroy
thick-et
crouch-ing
cour-age
for-est
a-waits
prey
Af-ri-ca
dread-ful
might -y
vic-ttm
stealth
Why do we call the lion the King of Beasts ?
Is it because he is the largest or the strongest
creature that walks the earth? No, it is
not. for the elephant is larger, and the tiger
equals him in strength. But still he is very
large and strong, and able to destroy beasts of
greater size than himself. Then his immense
head, his fiery eye and long shaggy mane give
him a very fierce look, and the sound of his
voice is so startling that it is no wonder that
other animals quail before him. Fearing no
boys' IJIRST SyANBARD. 55
rival, he roams the forest at will, truly and
indeed a king among the beasts.
The lion is said to be both noble and brave,
but without doubt he has the deep cunning of
all the cat tribe to which he belongs, and pre-
fers hiding himself and coming on his prey by
stealth rather than meeting it in open fight.
Only when he is hungry does he walk abroad
in the day-time, as he loves to sleep away the
hot summer noon in some shady grove or
thicket. It is at evening that he sallies forth
in quest of water and food, and woe to the
poor harmless beast, be it deer or goat, zebra
or giraffe, ox, or sheep or horse that chances to
come near him. Crouching behind a rock or
bush, or nearly hidden in the tall grass, just
by the path of the creature as it wends its way
to the river side to drink, the lion awaits its
approach. If we could watch him, we should
see him at first creeping along with his head
nearly close to the ground, his eyes glaring as
if they would pierce the gloom, and his ears
now erect and now thrown back, listening to
the sound of the distant footfalls. As they
come nearer, he stops and gathers himself up
for the fatal spring ; his head is somewhat
raised now, and his tail mpves sloiyly to and
fro. The victim is in sight, soon it will be
close enough, within some ten or twenty yards,
for the lion to spriiig upon it, and then with a
dreadful roar and a mighty bound he throws
56 USEFUL KNOWLEDGE READING BOOKS.
himself upon his prey. If it be a small
animal, the struggle is but a short one ; the
lion's claws are in its body, and his teeth
are at its throat. The life blood soon ebbs
away, and king lion either lies down then and
there and feasts upon the carcase, or carries
it off to his den to feed the lioness and her
cubs. As the lion will kill and carry off both
sheep and oxen, and even men and women, he
is hunted away from the abodes of men. The
natives of Afirica, when they find a lion and
lioness have taken up their quarters near their
homes, go out in parties armed with spears,
and bows and arrows, and sometimes with
muskets, to attack them. They have need of
great care and skill, as the lions when roused
will spring upon the hunters, and often cause
the death of one or more of them.
Lions are brought to this country, and kept
in shows for people to look at. In former
times, among the Romans and some other
nations, they were kept in dens to eat people
who were thrown to them for having done
what was against their country's laws.
WILLIE AND THE BEES.
stu-pid hon-ey watch-ed
weath-er gath-er heath-er
mis-tress flow-er-y fol-low-ed
e-ven-ing glar-ing might-y
wretch craz-ed rais-ed
boys' first standakd. 57
No, no, no, no, I would not do,
For either love or money.
What siHy little WiUie did.
All for the sake of honey.
Wee Willie watched a busy bee,
All in the sunny weather.
Fly to and fro and gather sweets.
Amid the purple heather.
' rU see the end of this,' said he,
This foolish Kttle Willie ;
* I'll follow you, wee Mistress Bee, '
So do not think me silly/
Then down the stream, and through the
And o'er the flowery lea, [lane,
Followed our fat wee Willie
After small Mistress Bee.
Small Mistress Bee at evening came
Home to her hive of rest,
Just as the red and glaring sun
Was sinking in the west.
* I've found you out at last,' cried Willie,
* And all your mighty swarm !
So just look out, small Mistress Bee,
I mean to do you harm.
* I do not think my feasts of honey
Should be so small and few.
That a big hive like this may feed
A little thing like you ! '
68 USEFUL KNOWLEDGE READING BOOKS.
So Willie rushed upon the hive —
The bees a^U thought him crazed,
They stung him here, and stung him
And what a roar he raised ! [there,
Then off he ran with might and main,
With many a shriek and cry ;
He'll never touch a hive again,
You know the reason why.
No, no, no, no, I would not do
For either love or money,
What foolish little Willie did,
All for the sake of honey.
R. L. H.
HONESTY.
an-swer ques-tion steal-ing
cheat-ing de-ceive con-ceal
teach-ers a-sham-ed dis-grace
pun-ish-ed up-right stead-y
re-sist-ing tempt-a-tion re-col-lect
We are all very ready to agree that honesty
is the best policy, but are we all as honest as
we are so willing to say we ought to be ? Be-
fore we can answer this question we must
know what we mean by the word ' honesty.'
What then is honesty? You will very likely
tell me that it means not stealing or cheating.
Well, you are partly right, and yet there are very
many dishonest people in the world who would
never dream of stealing anything or giving you
the wrong change for your money. You do
boys' first standard. 59
not quite see how that can be, do you? I will
tell you. If you steal apples out of a garden,
you rob the owner of his fruit. Just so when
you deceive any one, and lead him to believe
what is false, you rob him of the truth. So
you see that to deceive is a kind of robbery,
Hnd therefore dishonest. Have you anything
you wish to conceal from your parents or
teachers^ or do you ever do what you would
be ashamed for them to see? If so, be
sure there is something about you not quite
honest. It is far better to confess what we
have done wrong, and bear the trouble and
disgrace, than by hiding our faults to deceive
those around us, and let them fancy us better
than we really are. We can only gain the
trust and love of those about us, by being
perfectly open and truthful in all our words
and actions ; and although honest, upright con-
duct may sometimes bring us into trouble, as
for instance when we have to be punished for
some wrong action we have confessed, yet in
the long run it is certain to pav best, even
from a worldly point of view. When you go
out into life, you will find that it is not only the
clever people that do well, but the steady,
honest ones. The first question asked when
a boy or girl tries for a place, whether it be
in a shop or office, or on a farm or out at ser-
vice, is not whether he is clever and sharp,
but whether he is honest and truthful — in a
word, w:hether he can be trusted^ Many a
60 USEFUL KNOWLEDGE READING BOOKS.
man has owed his success in after life to re-
sisting a temptation to be dishonest when he
was young. Had he given way to it, he would
most likely have gone on from bad to worse,
have lost his trust in himself, as well as the
trust of others ; and that trust gone, very little
hope remains for a man of doing well. Kecol-
lect that the way to be honest is to stand
firmlv against the very first wish to deceive
or take what is not your own. The thing
may be very Uttle and very slight in itself,
but it will surely lead to worse, till the bad
habit grows too strong for you to conquer.
£. B. H.
THE SHEEP.
chief-ly can-dies weth-er
mut-ton shep-herd weath-er
pas-ture Leices-ter quar-rel
tal-low mid-die awk-ward
Sheep are kept in England chiefly for the
sake of the mutton which they produce. But
in some foreign countries where there is a great
extent of pasture land, thousands of sheep are
kept for their wool, their skins, and their tal-
low. Their wool is dyed, and used to make
woollen cloth, their skins are dressed and made
into parchment, and from their fat tallow can-
dles are made.
The most famous breed of sheep in this
country are the South-downs^ so called because
boys' first standard. 61
they are bred and fed upon the short thick
grass which grows on the chalky hills or downs
in the south of England. They have very
thick short wool, short round bodies, black
legs and black faces. The mutton which is
got from them is the finest in the world. They
are fit to kill when they are two years old ;
but the primest mutton is that of. a four year
old wether. The shepherd and his dog drive
them to the hills in the morning and fetch
them home in the evening, and they are looked
after throughout the day by boys. In the
winter they are fed on turnips and h&y.
The Leicester sheep also give very good mut-
ton. They are kept in the middle of England,
and grow to a great size. A sheep of this
breed grows to twice the size of the South-
down, and pelds a great deal of long white
wool. A cross between these two famous
breeds of sheep takes the good points of both
and gives some of the best mutton sent to
market. Some thousands of sheep are killed
every day in the year to supply London
alone.
The Welsh sheep run almost wild and in
very large flocks upon the mountains of Wales.
They are very active, and may often be seen
leaping stone walls five or six feet high.
When kept at home for a time and fattened
they give very good mutton in small joints^
which is highly prized for its rich flavour.
Irish and Scotcn sheep are sent to the London
62 USEFUL KNOWLEDGE READING BOOKS.
market in immense numbers, but their meat
is not so good as that of the English breeds.
Lambs are born during the first three
months of the year, and even in the coldest
weather they may be seen skipping about the
turnip fields and bleating after their mothers.
Sheep are fed on grass and turnips, and they
are so fond of clover, that they sometimes kill
themselves by eating too much of it.
About April, when the warm weather is
coming on, sheep are shorn of their wool.
They are taken to a stream of clear water,
and well washed. A man then takes a large
pair of shears, and neatly clips off^ all their
wool close to the skin. The sheep are quite
harmless, and submit without ever trying to.
bite, though they sometimes try to get away.
When they quarrel amongst themselves they
will give each other blows with their heads
which can be heard many yards away. They
go back some distance with their faces towards
each other, and then rush forward with all
their force, and dash their heads together in a
frightful manner. He gets the best of the
battle who can manage to give the other the
hardest and most awkward blow.
In some coimtries the sheep have such large,
fat tails, that they cannot well carry them ; so
their masters make little carts, which they tie
behind the sheep, that they may give their
tails a ride. E. H.
boys' first standard. 63
WOOL
clothes wear-ing atock-ings
neigh-bours gar-ment& flan-nel
rib-bons wov-en jack-et
gloss-y * waist-coat shear-ing
pret-ty trous-ers fleece
^Old clothes! old clo! old clo! Who
wants to buy any old clothes ? ' ' Who wants
to buy old clothes ! Well, I am sure ! I have
often seen a man with a large bag buying up
old clothes of the neighbours round about, but
we rarely have old clothes ofiered us for sale.'
So said Miss Prim, as she looked once more at
her new hat and bright ribbons, at her velvet
mantle, and silk dress, all new, brand new, from
the shop over the way. * I wonder who buys
old clothes ! No old clothes for me, if I can
help it ! ' * And so say 1/ chimed in little Bob
Smart, the draper's boy ; ' bright glossy cloth is
the thing I like to wear,' and he looked quite
pleased as he held up a new black coat just
sent in from Mr. Snip, the tailor^s. Not so fast,
not so fast, my good lad ; nor must you, my
pretty lady, be quite so certain that you are
not wearing some one's old clothes. I have
heard that Master Smart's superfine coat was
worn long ago by a gentleman with four legs,
one Mr. Sheep by name, and that some old
fat fellows, with I don't know how many legs,
used to sleep in missy's fine blue silk. It is
64 USEFUL KNOWLEDGE HEADING BOOKS.
true, neither the dress nor the coat look the same
as when their first owners wore them, as the
old garments were picked to pieces and spun
into threads, which were then dyed and woven
into cloth. Perhaps it is as well for Bob that
it is so. How he would stare if some old
sheep were to run after him and call out, ' Bah!
bah! bah! Bob! Bob! Bob! What are you
doing with my old coat? ' In truth, we may all
well look and feel somewhat sheepish, when
we reflect that we have got not our coats only,
but often also our trousers, and waistcoats,
and stockings, our flannel jackets, our blankets,
our carpets, a^d many other articles of clothing
or for use, by robbing one of our best friends.
What seems worse in this matter is that no
one seems at all ashamed of the theft. The
farmer who owns the sheep fleeces him again
and again as May comes round, without so
much as saying, 'I beg your pardon, Mr.
Fourlegs,' or * Will you kindly allow me
to ease you of your great coat?' His men
first of all duck him in the pond or stream to
wash him clean, and then take him off to a
bam, where they hold him down while a man
cuts off the fleece with a large pair of shears.
But though the sheep gives a good kick every
now and then, and looks very angry when he
is let loose, yet he seems to bear no malice,
and is so kind as to grow anotiier woolly coat
in time for next year's shearing.
As the sheep is so usefiil to us we should
boys' first standard. 65
treat him kindly; and when we think of the
way in which new clothes are obtained, we
shall not pride ourselves on fine dress, if we
remember that it is, after all, second hand.
E. H.
COTTOK
fetch hand-ker-chief build-ings
cot-ton chintz ques-tions
dra-per's cal-i-co chief-ly
pin-a-fore spin-ning floss-y
trou-sers weav-ing sub-stance
* Willy, please to fetch me a ball of cotton
from my work-box.'
* Yes, mother,' said Willy ; and away he ran
and soon came back with the cotton in his
hand.
'Who gave you that nice ball of cotton,
mother?'
* No one gave it me, Willy ; I bought it at
the draper's shop.'
* Is that where you got Susy's new frock
from?' *
* Yes.'
* And did you buy that too? '
' Yes, WiUy, I bought Susy a frock there,
besides some calico for shirts for little Tom
and you.'
' Is my shirt mfade of cotton? Oh, I see,
I. B. F
66 USEFUL KNOWLED.GE READING BOOKS.
there seem to be threads in it like the one
yoti are working with/
* Not only your shirt is made of cotton, but
your socks and pinafores, and Su^'s frock, and
a great many things that we wear or make use
of in other ways. Just take this ball of
cotton in your hand and go round the room,
and see if you can find out how many things
there are in it which are made of cotton/
Willy took the ball, and pulling a thread out
a little way laid it first on the table-doth, and
then on the carpet; now on the window4)lin<i,
and then on the sofa-cover. Next he tried it
with a piece of a dress his mother was making,
and then he laid it on his handkerchief, his
coat sleeve, and trousers. He was not sure,
but he thought the handkerchief, and the dress,
and the window-blind were made of cotton.
His mother told him he was right so far,^ and
that the chintz, sofa-cover was cotton. aJso, but
that the other things he had looked into were
chiefly made of wooL Now Willy knew very
well that wool grew on the sheep's backs,
but he did not know how it could be made
into cloth or aarpets; nor could he make
out what cotton was, or in what way it was
turned into calico for shirts and prints for
dressqs.
. So he said, ' How is wool made into
cloth, mother? Where does cotton come
from? What is cotton? And how is it
made up ? '
boys' *irst stand akd. 67
* One questibn at a time, if you please, master
Willy, and then I will try to answer you.
Which shall we take first ? '
' Where does cotton come from ? '
' You know I buy cotton frocks at the
draper's. The draper buys his cotton goods
of persons who have bought them of the
makers. Those who make the cotton goods
employ many hundreds of men, women, and
children in large buildings called cotton mills.
In cotton mills the raw cotton which comes
from abroad is spun into threads or yarn, and
woven into cloth.'
' What is faw cotton, and what do you mean
by spinning and weaving? I can't think how
it is done,' said Willy.
' Three questions again,' said his mother ;
* and again I must beg of you for the present
to be content with an answer to one of them,
What is raw cotton ? *
' Raw cotton is the name given to it just as
it comes to us from the hot countries where the
cotton plant grows. For I must tell you that
cotton grows in the seed pod of a shrub about
as large as a good-Sized rose treje. It is a soft,
white, flossy substance wrapped around the
cotton 86eds. When the pods are ripe they
burst open, and then men and women gather
them, and after parting the seeds fi^om the
white woolly fibre, pqick it in bales, and send
it to us to make into yam and cloth, and many
other useful articles.'
F 2
68 USEFUL KNOWLEDGE READING BOOKS.
* Thank you, mother, I think I know some-
thing about cotton now, and hope another
time you will tell me about wool, and silk, and
linen.' H. C.
PAPER.
Eng-land
mer-chant
pol-ish
parch-ment
for-eign
re-sist •
ex-ist
ma-chine
sup-ply
de-mand
col-our
re-quire
Paper has not always been in use in Eng-
land. Hundreds of years ago all books were
made of parchment or sheep's skin, ^nd many
of them still exist, But books made of parch-
ment were very dear, so, when people wished
to read a great number of books, there was a
demand for something cheaper to print and
write upon. Then some one found out how
to make paper from rags, and very clever it
was to turn dirty rags into smooth, white,
glossy paper.
People at the shops collect rags, and sell
them to the rqg merchant ; and he sells them
again to the paper maker. But more rags
are wanted in England to supply all the books,
papers, and other things, than can be had, and
so hundreds of tons are brought every year
from foi*eign countries. When a great many
have been taken ]to the mill, the paper-maker
first sets a machine to work upon them to
beat and whirl them about, to get all the
boys' first standard. go
dust out of them. I'his partly cleanses
therri, but therfe is still a great deal of dirt
in them that cannot be got out in this
manner, so they are then handed over to
a second machine to be cleaned, and, at
the same time, to be mashed up into pulp.
They are all put into a long trough filled with
knives stuck into the bottom and sides, and in
the trough an axle, also filled with knives,
turns round and round. The two sets of
blades between them cut the rags over and
over again, until they are all torn up very
small indeed, and this is the pulp from which
paper is made. While the cutting is going
on, a stream of clean water runs in at one
end of the trough and out at the other, and
carries off all the dirt. The pulp is then
put into a cistern, and if the paper is to be
tinted, the colour is put in now.
To make the sheets of paper, a wire fi-ame
edged with wood, of the same size as the sheet,
is taken and dipped quite flat into the pulp,
and a thin layer is lifted out, while the water
runs off through the wires. This is taken out
at once, and placed on a sheet of soft felt. A
second piece of felt is placed on the top of
this, and then a second sheet of paper on that,
and so on, until a pile of forty or fifty has
been formed. These are then all put into a
press and squeezed very hard until they are
nearly dry, and quite thin and flat. The
sheets are then hung upon lines for seven, or
70 USEFUL KNOWLEDGE BEADIXG BOOKS,
eight days, axul all little pieces of dajrk pulp
dnd such things are picked off. When this
has been done, the paper is just the same as
blotting-paper. . To make it fit to write or
print on, it is glazed with size. Thm it is
put into quires or half-quires, folded, pressed
down tight, and trimmed with ^ very large
sharp kmfe, to make the edges straight and
square. But most of the paper now used is
madq much more quickly and more cheaply by
a machine.
During the last few years many other
things besides paper have been made from
pulp: trays, tables, writing-desks, and even
hats. They are very light, hard, take a fine
polish, and resist water. The large London
daily papers require so much to print upon
that a mill is kept working all the year round
to supply each office. Other things, such as
straw and wood, have been tried, but the paper
made from them is not so good as that made
from rags. E. H.
MOUNTAINS.
mount-ains rough cov-er-ed
bright-ly splash for-ests
bus-y fierce an-i-mals
clouds des-ert Eng-lapd
The high mountains rise up into the clouds.
You could hardly climb up to the top, the
way is so long and so rough.
BOTS' FIRST STAOT)ARD. 71
Men do sometimes go up to the very top,
but they are in great danger. They have to
creep along very narrow paths, and are very
likely to tumble and dash themselves to pieces
on the rocks.
But when they do get to the top, they see
the country for very many miles, and it is a
very grand sight.
The tops of the highest mountains are always
covered with ice and snow, for it is very cold
high up in the air. And when the sun shines
brightly, the ice and snow look red and pink
like a rose, and form a very pretty sight.
Many streams run down the mountain
sides. They splash, and dash, and roar as they
tumble over the rocks.
There are great forests on the mountains^
where tall pine trees grow. Men are busy at
work there cutting down the trees, and saw-
ing them into planks for our use. Hunters
go there as well, for fierce wild beasts — like
the bear and wolf — ^live in the forests.
Men often find gold and silver, and copper
and iron, in the sides of the mountains j and
then great mines are dug to get them out.
There are some lands which are almost full
of mountains. There you might stand and
see before you and behind, and on each side
of you, taU mountains reaching up to the
clouds, and every one of them with his white
cap of snow on. But there are some other
lands without one mountain, or even a hill.
72 USEFUL KNOWLEDGE READING BOOKS.
The ground is quite flat, and often no rivers
run through the land, for the high mountains
attract the clouds and the rain, so that where
there are plenty of mountains, there must be
plenty of streams.
Lands which have no mountains or rivers
are never rich, for no trees or grass will grow
there, and so men cannot live in them.
If such a land is hot, the ground is all burnt
up into sand, and it is called a desert.
In our little England we . have not any very
high mountains, but we have a good many
little ones, and we have plenty of rivers.
So our land is a very rich one, and we may
safely call it the best little land in the world.
R. McW.
THE RAINY DAY.
glo-ri-ous stain-less be-neath
crick-et for-give pu-ny
twen-ty Christ-mas ven-ture
cat- tie cow-er-ing a-gainst
Patter, patter, falls the rain
On the leaves so green and bright,
Down on the rose's glorious red,
And the lily's stainless white.
! I love to see it dashing
Ofi^ the roofs so clear and blue,
And beneath the mighty oak tree
To hear it dripping through.
BOYS- FIRST STANDAED. 73
And although there is no football,
Nor joyous out-door play,
.Yet I forgive the plashing
Of this dark and rainy day.
How all the roses love it !
They seem sweeter far than ever;
And 0, how mighty in its course
Onward rolls the river !
'Twas so puny I could wade it
Just twenty hours ago ;
But I would not venture now
To cross its rapid flow,
To be head of all the classes
From Christmas on to May,
For well I know 'twould cost my life
Upon this rainy day.
The cattle all are cowering
Beneath the elm- trees' shade ;
The grape-vine trained against the wall
Low with the ground is laid.
And streams are running muddy
Down past the school-room door.
Where streams through all the summer
Were never seen before.
A little lake the school-green is^
Where we are wont to play,
Yet ! I love the plashing
Of this dark and rainy day.
K. L. Htf
7i USEFUL KNOWLEDGE READING BOOKS.
RIVERS.
bub-bles mer-ri-ly vil-la-ges
back-ward for-ward swift-ly
flash-es shad-y pleas-ant
qui-et-ly barg-es chang-ed
A river is but a tiny stream at first; you
could stop it with your foot, it is so little. It
bubbles up in a spring in the side of a hill,
and runs down merrily through the grass,
and over the stones. It seems to sing a song,
it is so glad ; and it makes the wild flowers
which grow by it glad too.
It runs through villages, and people come
and draw jfresh clear water irom it. But
it soon grows larger, for other streams ran
into it ; and pretty little fish live in it and
play among the stones. They dart backward
and forward so swiftly, that they look like
flashes of light.
So, on it runs through green fields, and the
cows come and drink out of it; and trees grow
over it and make it shady, and very pleasant
to bathe in. But when it gets to be big and
strong it will .turn water-wheels, and grind
corn for men, and do many other things for
them.
And when the stream grows deep and wide
it is called a river. It runs on very quietly
now and sings no more songs, for it is no longer
a little thing. But men sail on it in boats,
boys' ferst standard. 75
and catch fish, and carry coal and many other
things on it in barges^
Large towns are built by the side of it,
and great ships sail on it, and bring us tea and
coflfee, and all kinds of good things from all
parts of the world.
So the river runs on, getting wider and
deeper, till it reaches the deep, deep sea, and
there it seems lost at last.
But it is not lost after all. Every little
drop of water in the river came out of the
sea at first. The sun drew up the littie drops
out of the sea, and they changed into clouds
and then into rain, and fell upon the hills, and
the fields, and so ran back again to the sea.
In some lands the streams run down veiy
steep hills and mountains, and then they dash
and roar and make a noise like thunder. No
boats can go on streams like these, but they
will work mills very well, and so saw timber,
and do other very useful things.
The river never stops. The little stream,
whiich you can step over, ran on just the same
when your father was a boy, and it will chat-
ter over the stones when all of us are laid in
the grave.
Where a river first begins is called its source^
and where it ends its mouth The banks of a
river are its sides, and its bed is the hollow in
which it flows. A river which runs into
another is called a tributary. There's a hard
word for you ! E. MgW.
76 USEFUL KNOWLEDGE BEADIN(3^ BOOKS.
GLASS.
beau-ty
brit-tle
chim-neys
scratch
win-dows
pot-ash
smooth
warmth
hol-Iow
pol-ish
com-fort
i-ron
val-ue
yel-low
twist-ing
' trans-pa-rent
ink-stands
tough-er
ob-ject
pic-tures
slow-ly
Glass is a most useful substance of great
beauty. It is so hard that very few things
will cut it, or even scratch it. Glass can be
made so smooth and bright that nothing else is
able to take so high a polish. Its chief value
depends upon its being transparent, which
means that it can be seen through. The best
glass is so transparent, that it does not at all
hide from our sight any object on the other
side of it. Glass is also brittle, that is, it may
be broken with a slight blow.
Of all the things made by the art of man,
ferhaps not one is put to more uses than glass,
ts chief use is for making windows for our
houses. It lets in light and warmth, while
it shuts out wind and rain. Many years ago
window panes were made of glass, but the
sort used then was not at all clear. People
did not know how to make any better glass
than the common thick green sort ; but they
sometimes made it blue, yellow, or black for
other uses. When men began to make better
boys' first standard. 77
glass it was very costly, and none but the
richest people could afford to buy it for their
windows. But now it is both cheap and
good, and we owe much of our comfort to
its use.
Other things are made of glass, such as
tumblers, wine-glasses, plates, dishes, and salt
cellars, for use on the table. It is used to
make ink-stands; and pictures in frames
are covered with sheets of it. Then we
have also looking-glasses, glasses for clocks
and watches, bottles, buttons, beads, and
chimneys and globes for lamps. Another
great use of glass is to assist our sight ; made
in a certain shape it helps people with bad
sight to see clearly, and those with good sight
to see things at a great distance, and also
many which are too small to be seen with the
naked eye.
Glass is made of flint stones, ground to
powder, or sand, mixed with soda or potash,
and one or two other things. To make the
best glass, soda and fine white sand are used.
They are put into a furnace to melt, till they
become what is called frit. After keeping the
frit some time, it is put into a second furnace
to melt again, in order to clear it, which takes
about two days. The glass-makers then take
some of the melted ^ass on the end of a long
hollow rod of iron. With this rod or tube they
can form the glass, while hot, into almost any
shape they please, by twisting and rolling it
80. USEFUL . KNOWLEDGE BEADING BOOKS.
*
things made of metal. Mixed with glue and
water, it makes whitewash for ceiliiigs and
walls. Mixed with linseed oil, and well
worked and beaten, it makes putty, which is
much used by painters and glaziers.
The soft moist kind of chalk, whether it is
burnt into lime or not, makes a good manure
for some kinds of soil. D. W.
SILK.
smooth silk-worm ti-ny
piece spiu'Uer sleep-y
touch co-coon pret-ty
thread rib-bon re-al-ly
moth cloth-ing sur-round
If you take a piece of silk in your hand and
feel it, you will find it smooth and soft to the
touch. Now, look well into it, and you will
see how very fine the threads are of which it
is made, and how many there are in a small
piece. You have perhaps a piece of black
silk, or it may be that it is red, or blue, or
pink, or green. These colours are given it
by dyeing.
Do you know where the very fine yellow
silk comes from? Does it grow in the pod of
a plant like cotton, or on the back of a crea-
ture like the sheep? No, it does not grow in
either of these ways, but it is made, and in
boys' first standard. 81
a way that one would not guess if he tried all
day. You would hardly think that a moth,
and an egg not so large as a pin's head, and a
sort of worm with many legs, and a shapeless
queer-looking thing rolled up in a round yellow
case, had anything to do with making silk rib-
bons and dresses for ladies. But, indeed, they
have a great deal to do with it; and when we
are told that every yard of silk was got by
"killing a number of poor sleepy old silkworms,
who, having eaten a great many nice green
leaves in their time, had thought fit to roll
themselves up for a quiet nap in their old
age, I think we shall not deem it such a very
grand thing after all to wear a new silk scarf,
or ribbon, or dress.
Boys sometimes keep silkworms in order to
get them to spin the pretty yellow cocoons.
First they get the moth, which lays the tiny
eggs on a piece of card-board or in a little
box. After a time, the eggs burst open, and
the small worms, with many legs, come forth.
These must be fed with fresh lettuce or other
leaves, which they will eat, but they must be
kept in a diy, warm place.
Day by day they eat more and more, and
grow larger and larger, till at length they
seem to know they have had enough, when
they retire to some quiet corner, and begin to
surround themselves with the fine yellow
thread, which has really been made out of the
leaves they have eaten. At the same time,
I. B. G
82 USEFUL KNOWLEDGE READING BOOKS.
their bodies becoiae changed in fonn, and by-
and-by they are quite hidden in what appears
to be a small yellow ejrg, and is cfkUed a
cocoon. After havinoc had a rather long sleep,
our good friend the spinner wake« up, and tiuds
that she has. lost some of her legs and has got
wings* Perhaps also she is hungry. At any
rate, she eats her way out, and stands before
the world a full-grown moth, ready in Jbuer turn
to lay eggs whic^ will become silkworms and
spinners like their parents before them^
In countries where they make a trade of
keeping silkworms, as in France, Italy, Japan,
China, and India, they do not allow the spin-
ners to eat theu' way out, as this would break
up the long fine thread into a great many
short piecfes. To pt-event this the cocoons are
put into boiling water, and the makers of
them are thus killed for the sake of their
winding sheets. The next thing to do is to
unwind the thread, which is sold to those who
spin the silk into yarn, or make it iirto pieces
for ribbons, dresses, and many other Bficfkil
articles.
All the silk that one worm spins to make
his cocoon m in one very fine threiul, ao fine
indeed that teii of them twisted together
would be only as thick as one hair of your
head. This thread is about dOO feet long.
Ask your teacher to tell you how many times
the length of your school-room that is,
H. C.
BOTS' FIRST STANDARD. 83
THE USES OF ANIMALS.
serv-ice num-bers . flan-iiels
ftup-plj dain-tv leath-ers
cloth^mg af-ford Cash-mere
class-es C<5st-lv car-ri-age
whrfe-some i^ein^deer de-stroys
com-mon monk-eys ver-min
salt-ed . sav-age drown-ing
God has made all animals to be of some use
for the service of man. Some supply him
with food, some ^th dothing, while others
labour for him. In this country &e cow sup-
plies us with more food than any other animal
does; and whUe Uving it gives mUk to drink,
from which also butter and cheese are made.
When killed its flesh is eaten by all classes,
and is called beef. The flesh of sheep is called
mutton, and is very wholesome food. The
flesh of the pig is very much used; when fresh
it is called pork, and when it has been salted
and dried, it is called bacon. Hares and rabbits,
whose flesh is very good food, are eaten in large
numbers. The nesh of deer is eaten by those
who can get it, but it is costly to purchase^
In S((xne countries the people eat the flesh
of other animals^ such as goats, reindeer, bears,
and horses. Even the flesh of dogs, rats, and
monkeys is eoiea by some savage nations.
A great part of our clothing is made from
the skins of beasts. The wool of the sheep is
e 2
84 USEFUL KNOWLEDGE READING BOOKS,
woven into shawls, flannels, blankets^ carpets,
and cloth," from which all sorts of garments
are made. The wool of the sheep is there*
fore of as much value as its flesh. The furs
of the rabbit, fox, beaver, ermine, and sable
make mufis, cuffs, jackets, and tippets. The
upper-leathers for boots and shoes are made
from goat-skin, seal-skin, ^,nd calf-skin ; the
soles are made from ox-hide. The best shawls
are woven from the hair of the camel and the
Cashmere goat.
Mankind could not do the work which must
be done without the help of animals. Being
much stronger than a man, they do for us the
hardest waA. The horse helps the farmer to
plough, sow the seed, and bring home the
crops. It is useftil, too, for riding, and drawing
carriages and heavy loads. The camel is of
great service.for taking heavy loads across the
sandy deserts. The reindeer is a most us§^ful
animal in cold countries; it draws its master
very swiftly, in a sledge, over the snow; its
flesh is good food, and its skin is made into
warm clothing. The donkey can draw heavy
loads, and does not cost much to feed it. The
dog is very faithful to his master, guards his
house, hunts for game, and destroys vermin.
In some countries the dog is used to draw
loads instead of horses. Some kinds of dogs
are prized because they have saved so many
people from drowning, or being lost in the
^now.
boys' first standard. 85
The bones, horns, hoo&, and &t of animals
are made use of. Handles of knives, combs,
and spoons are made from bones. Horns and
hoofs are cut up and boiled to make glue;
candles are made from the fat. D. W.
THE BEGGAR MAN.
knock-ed
cot-taore
draw-ing
ope*d
shiv-er-ing
frost-y
drear-y
wan-der-ing
frail
dawn*ed
bless-ing
earn-est-ly
an-gels
gar-ments
brave-ly
The poor and lame old beggar came
The stormy fields all o'er ;
And, with a feeble hand, he knocked
iUpon our cottage door.
Grev% hk hai^bent was his back,
'His cheek was white and wan ;
And Death was drawing to the grave
The poor old beggar man.
»
My mother went and ope'd the door^
With pity in her eye ;
She saw ^ the old man's shivering linibs.
The keen and frosty sky,
* Come in, come; in, poor nian/ she said ;
* Cold,, dre^iry, is the moor^ —
God ciUres for them, why should not I.
Assist the wandering poor 3 '.
. /
36 USEFUX* KK0WX<£D6S BEADING BOOKS.
^Twas little that my mother had^
For many bairns were we ;
And, to earn bread for all of oa,
Much toil and care had she ;
But her kind Jieart was ever wont
With pity's warmth to glow,
And the tear would gather in her eye.
At the tale of want and woe.
Kindly she gave all she could give,
And God aye s^it her more ;
And kept the pangs of horrid want
From her poor cottage door.
She hous€id and fed the frail old man
Till dawned another day ;
When, blessing her most earnestly,
He slowly crept away.
The poor old man must now be dead,
Though his grave no mortal knows ;
Nor cares he how the snow may fall,
Nor how keen the fierce wind blows.
But his soul before the throne of Go<),
Where the angel gar^e^its glow, .
M^ think of my mother's kindly heart, -
In, thi& world of want and. wod.
To those who cannot help themaelvesj
Like the frail old beggar man,
I'll always do as mother did,
Give every help I can :
And I will gladly, bravely woA, •
And, grateful, pray foi* more ;
And God, I know, will ever keep
Want from my humble door. R. L. H.
boys' first standard. 87
A HOUSE,
man^kind raft-ers plumb-er
re-quire splen-did glaz-ier
pro-vide pal-ace win-dow
shel-ter man-sionfl trades-man
can-vas cas^tles kitch-ens
dwell-ings ciab-ins ceidars
build-ing em-ploy« stud-ies
A, house is a place built for mankind to
live in. Wild beasts live in dens, caves, or
forests ; birds live in trees or hedges ; tame
animals require stables or sheds to live in.
But men provide better dwellings for them-
selves for warmth, shelter, and rest.
Some meu live in tents made of canvas ;
these are very handy for those who often
want to move about, as they require to take
their dwellings with them^ But houses,- such
as we live in, are better for those who are
more settled. Years ago men used to make
their huta with twigs^ and daub them ' over
with mud* In later times houses were built
with wood^ and spread over with clay to keep
the wind out. The roofs were made with
straw, like the roofs of some houses in country
pl^cQfi ^vea 3Qoir«
At the present time the walls of a house
:are made with stone or bricks, which are
joined very firmly by being set in layers of
mortar^ fiortar is made of lime mix^d with
88 USEFUL KNOWLEDGE READING ioOKS.
sand and water. Besides these, there are
many things wanted in building. Wood,
slates, tiles, glass, iron, and lead, are uU used
as well. The doors, rafters, floors, .window-
frames, and cupboards, are made xrf wood.
Deal is the most common kind of wood that is
used. The roof is covered with tiles or slates.
Tiles are made of clay, and slates are thin pieces
split off large blocks of slate dug out of the
earth. The windows are made of glass, which
lets in the light, while it keeps out the wind
and rain. Iron is used to make the bolts,
locks, screws, and nails. Lead is sometimes
u^ed for the roofs of large buildings.
The building of a house employs men of
many trades. The walls are built by stone-
masons or bricklayers. The wood- work is
done by the carpenter and joiner. The slater
covers the roof. The glazier puts the glass in
the windows. The painter paints the doors and
window-frames. The plumber does the lead-
work.
There are names given to houses to express
whether they are large or small, A very large
and splendid house, such as kings and queens. '
live in, is called a palace. A mansion is a fine
large house, but not so grand as a palace.
Some very large houses are called castles. A
small house is called a cottage. Huts and
cabins are the poorest kinds of houses.
Houses consist of bed-rooms, sitting-rooms,
kitchens, and cellars. All but huts and
cabins have most of these rooms in them*
boys' first standard. 89
Large houses have others besides, such as
drawing-rooms, dining-rooms, studies, and
halls. The floors of a house are sometimes
called storeys. That part of a house which is
below the level of the ground is called tiie
basement. The floor above this is called the
ground floor. Above the ground floor is the
first floor, and so on.
THE SEASONS.
dark-ness flovv-ers thresh-ed
weath-er gar-dens pheas-ant
sum-ngier six-teen cov-er-ed
au-tumn Au-gust child-ren
joy-ous lil-ies home-less
na-ture yel-low or-phan
hap-py stack-ed rain-y
In every day and night there are twenty-
four hours, some of light and some of dark-
ness. The sun shines in the day-time and
gives us light and heat ; when tlie sun goes
away it becomes dark, and is called night.
There is one part of the year when the sun
shines a long time every day, which causes
warm weather. When the sun shines only a
short time every day the weather is cold. This
change in the weather makes the seasons*
In England, and many other countries, there
are four seasons in the year. The first is
called spring, the second summer, the third
autumn, and the fourth winter. In summer
the days are long and the nights are short;
90 USEFUL KNOWLEDGE RPAmNG BOOKS.
but in winter the nights are long and the dayd
are shorts In spring find autumn the days
and nights are more equal in length.
On the other side of our world the people
have hot weather when it is cold here ; so that
it is summer with then^ while it is winter
with us, and so with the other seasons.
Spring is a very joyous time; all nature
then seems happy, and wears a bright face, as
if glad that the frost and snow have gone
away. The trees and bushes be^n to put
forth tender green buds and leaves, the grass
grows, and tne birds sing all day long, as they
build their nests. The eaiiy flowers blossom
in the woods and gardens, and the lambs sport
in the fields. The months of spring are
March, April, and May.
Summer is the hottest season ; it begins in
June, when the days are about sixteen hours
long. In July and August the days get short
again. The young birds learn to fly, Qie early
fruits grow ripe, and the com changes to a
golden colour as it ripens. The roses, lilies,
and other flowers, hdlp to make diis season
venr pleasant^
In autumn the leaves change from green to
yellow, brown, or red, and then fall off^ the
trees. The com is all cut, wid stacked or
threshed, the late firuit b stored^ and care
taken to provide for the coming winter. The
s^x)rtsman shoots the hares, pheasants, and
other game.
boys' first staothard. 9Ji
Winter brings the frost and snow again;
the lakes and rivers are firoasen over, and the
trees, fields, and roads are clothed in white.
The old year closes, and a new year begins.
Happy are the children that gather round
the blazing fire, with their parents ! Sad is
the plight of the homeless orphan at this
bitter season !
In many of the hottest countries of the
world there are only two seasons in the year.
They are called the dry season and the rainy
season. D. W.
GOOD NIGHT.
beau-ti-ful gnats dark-'ning
grow-ing dim-mer whisp-er
gurgfling verd-ant wimp-ling
dirap'ling dream^.ly wheel-ing
flourish hoar-y an-cient^
. Tlie sun is setting o'er the hill,
The day is dying fast,
Yet, oh, how sweet and beautiful
E'en to the very last !
The swarms of gnats are .sporting
In the flood of waning light ;
Their feeble buzz seems saying, ^
* 'Tis darkening now,— good night ! *
The dark firs in the forest
Are mourning softly now,
. And the wavy clouds seem lying
Upon the mountain's brow ;
^2 . USEFUL EKOWtiEDGE BEADING BOQKS.
They are growing fainter, dimmer,
And paler to the sight,
And they seem to whisper sweetly,
* 'Tis dark'ning now, — ^good night ! '
»
And the stream is gurgling softly
Adown the verdant lea,
Wimpling ever, dimpling ever.
Onward 1;o the sea.
And shortly it wiU reach it
In all its rolling might.
Though yet it murmurs dreamily,
* 'Tis dark'ning now,— good night ! '
And the bat around is wheeling
By the ruins old and grey,
Where the wall-flower and the ivy
Wave and flourish o'er decay ;
And the hoary tower seems saying
From its wall of ancient might,
* Again the day dies o'er me,
'Tis dark'ning now, — good night!'
And the ocean in its wailing
Is rolling on the shore,
Ever splashing, ever dashing,
Restless evermore;
And the sunset rests upon it,
In patches dim or bright.
And every wave seems whispering,^
* 'Tis dark'ning now,— good night!'
R* L<« u*
Eng-land
Ja-pan.
reck-on
As-sam
pleas-ant
chief-ly
gro-cer
at-tain
bush-y
height
conn-tries
branch-es
BOrS- FIRST STAlCfiARD. 93
TEA.
jag.ged
col-our '
ev-er-greeu
. re-quires
pluck-ed
shriv-el
Chi-na blos-soms con-vey
So many people in England drink tea every
day that we may reckon tea amongst the daily
wants of this nation, and all should know
something about it. Have you ever thought
how we get such a pleasant drink ? Of course
you know that it is made by pouring boiling
water on something that is called tea, which
we buy at the grocer's shop. But do you
know where it came from before the grocer had
it? I will try to tell you something about it.
Tea is the dried leaves of a bushy shrub,
which is called the tea plant, and grows iii
countries a very long way off. It is grown
chiefly in China, Japan, and Assam. The
leaves are not fit to gather till the plants
they grow on are three years old; in seven
years the shrubs attain their full size ; they are
then about the height of a man. After this
they are cut down, in order that they may send
put more branches and grow more leaves.
Besides* the leaves, tea plants bear flowers
and seeds, which are of no use for tea.
94 USEFUL KKOWLEDGE BEADIKa BOOKS.
The flowers are like the blossoms of the dog-
rose^ which most children have seen in the
hedges. The seeds are used for growing new
plants. ' In China there are whole fields filled
with tea plants, which grow best in low
places by the side of rivers, or on the slopes
of hills. The leaves are narrow and pointed,
and jagged round the edge like a rose-leaf;
they are smooth and glossy, and of a dark
green colour. The tea plant is called an ever-
green, because it remains green all the year.
To prepare the leaves requires great care.
Same are plucked in the spring and others in the
sunM!ner. The spring leaves make bettet tea
than those pulled in the simimer. A few of
the youngest leaves are taken oiF the bushes
very early in the spring, and these make the
best tea of all. The people who gather them
pick them off one by one, that rfiey may not
bruise them ; but tfiough you may think this
is very slow work, each person can gather
about ten or twelve pounds a day.
Before the leaves are fit for use they must
be dried; this is done by keeping them on
iron or copper plates over a fire, until they
shrivel up. They are then taken off the
plates, and rolled up in the bands. Tea is ia
this state when we buy it.
A very great number of pounds of tea ste
brought to this country every year from Gtiisft,
and many krge ships convey it across tlie sea.
boys' pibst standard, 95
COFFEE.
hanid-some
beau-ty
prof-it
su-ffar
pos-sess
eight-ee]
In-aies
. A-ra-bi-d
use-less
na-tive
for-ward
1
use-ful
Mo-cha
. e^Bough
roast-ed
ex-pense
sprink-led
)ierc-ed
cov-er-ed
moun-tains
ierce
Coffee is the fruit of a very handsome tree.
When dried and ground^ it is used with boil-
ing water to make a nice drink, which is also
called coffee. In this country people mostly
drink it mixed with sugar ana milk or cream;
but in some countries it is used without either.
The coffee tree is grown chiefly in Arabia,
the East Indies and ^^ West Indies, which are
all hot countries. The coffee tree is a native
of Arabia, and the best coffee still comes from
that country; it is called Moclm coffee, be-
cause it grows near the town of Mocha, and
from thence is sent all over the world* Coffee
treas are sometimes grown in cold countries,
but there they must be kept in hot-houses.
They repay ail the trouble and expenfee of
rearing them^ for they are always a pretty
sight, being covered with bright green leaves
all the year round. They are of great beauty
whea in flower, o)r when the berries are ripe.
The blossums are quite white, and possess a
sweet scent. The berries are first green and
change to a dark red as they become ripe.
96 USEFUL KNOWLEDGE READING BOOKS.
I
To raise new coffee trees, ripe seeds must
be picked, and put into the ground at once;
for, if not fresh from the tree, they will not
grow. When the young plants are forward
enough to be moved, they are planted in holes
about eight feet apart, and often sprinkled
with a little water. Thfey are found to
flourish best on hills and the slopes of moun-
tains, where the roots are not kept too wet.
In three years the trees begin to bear fruit,
but do not come into foil profit till they are
five years old. If not cut down they will grow
to the height of sixteen or eighteen feet, and
when about thirty years old cease to bear fruit.
No part of the tree is used except the fruit,
which looks like cherries, and grows in clusters.
When quite ripe it is shaken off the trees on
a clean cloth spread upon the ground. It is
then put into a mill, which breaks each berry
into two parts; these are called coffee-beans;
the mill also strips the skin from the berries.
The coffee-beans, after being soaked in water a
whole night, are roasted. This is done by means
of an iron box pierced with holes, in which
the beans are placed over a fierce fire. Then
the box is made to turn round very quickly till
the beans are scorched to a dark-brown colour.
When the coffee-beans have grown cold again
they are fit for use, but they should not be
ground till they are wanted for making the
coffee.
D- W.
boys' first standard. 97
sub-stance
cut-ting
cer-tain
bar-vest
pow-der
cbew-inff
sev-er-al
crush-ed
plant-ed
squeez-ed
num-ber
boil-ers
eight-een
mix-ed
SUGAR.
bulJocks
skim-med
sjnp-up
strain-ed
bak-ed
sligbt-ly
wrap-ped
The sweet substance called sugar, which we
use in the form of hard lumps or a soft
powder, is made from the juice of certain
plants. Those which yield the most are the
sugar-cane, the beet-root, and the maple tree.
Nearly all the sugar we us,e in this country
is made from the sugar-cane, and comes to us
from the East and West Indies.
The sugar-cane grows with joints all the
way up the stem, and looks as if made of short
pieces. It reaches the height of seven feet, or
as much as twelve feet in the richest soils.
At the top grows a bunch of leaves, and the
ishoots fix)m which new canes are raised.
Large fields of sugar-cane are grown in
this way: — Holes are dug all over the ground
about five or six inches deep. The shoots
are put in the bottom of these holes, and a
little earth is thrown over them. In ten or
twelve days they begin to grow, and more
mould is put round them as they increase in
size. When the canes are eighteen months
I. B. H
100 USEFUL KNOWLEDGE READING BOOKS.
their faults, were careful about this, and one
of them wrote this fable on purpose to teach
a lesson of kindness to others —
' Some boys were one day throwing stones
into a large pond, in which were a number of
frogs, at which they aimed ; at last one of the
fpogs, putting his head above the water, cried
out, " Dear children, why learn to be cruel so
young ? remember that what is fun to you i&
death to us." '
Again, if we are kind and thoughtftd for
dumb creatures, we shall find our pleasure
in them increase, and begin to notice many
of their habits and instincts which we might
never otherwise have learned ; for it is won-
derful to observe how curious many of their
ways are, and how strongly they suggest
to us the greatness of that power and skill
which made them what they are. We do not
as yet know how far what we call their instinct
is helped and guided by reason ; but we do
know that they are very grateful for kindness,
and try to prove it by any means witWn their
power. Even a fierce lion once made friends
with a poor slave named Androcles, who had
run away from his master, because the slave had
taken a thorn out of the lion's foot, and thus
eased him of the pain it was causing him.
After some time the slave was taken again
and thrown into a lion's den, that he might
be torn to pieces. But the lion, fierce as he
was to everyone else, came and licked the
boys' first standard. 101
poor man's hand and fondled him, instead of
tearing him to pieces. Then the poor slave
found it was his old friend of the desert, who
had been caught some time before. So his
master spared his life and set him free.
£. B. H.
LITTLE JIM.
cot-tage thatch-ed ev'ry-thing
won-drous pa-tient col-li-er
out-side an-gels hur-ry-ing
knelt beck-on up-litt-ed
howl-ing of-fer'd suf-fer-er
The cottage was a thatch'd one,
The outside old and mean.
Yet everything within that cot
Was wondrous neat and clean.
The niffht was dark and stormy,
• The wind was howling wild;
A patient mother knelt beside
The death-bed of her child.
A little worn-out creature-
V 1
His once bright eyes grown dim;
It was a collier's only child :
They caU'd him Little Jim.
And oh ! to see the briny tears
Fast hurrying down her cheek,
As she offer'd up a prayei? in thought —
She was afraid to speak,
102 USEFUL KNOWLEDGE BEADING BOOKS.
Lest she might waken one she lov'd
Far better than her life,
For there was all a mother's love
In that poor collier's wife.
With hands uplifted, see, she kneels
Beside the sufferer's bed ;
And prays that He will spare her boy,
And take herself instead !
She gets her answer from the child ;
Soft fell these words from him —
* Mother, the angels do so smile.
And beckon Little Jim !
* I have no pain, dear mother, now.
But oh ! I am so dry;
Just moisten poor Jim's lips again,
And, mother, don't you cry.'
With gentle trembling haste she held
The tea-cup to his lips ;
He smiled, to thank her, as he took
Three little tiny sips.
* Tell father, when he comes from work,
I said good*night to him ;
And, mother, now I'll go to sleep '—
Alas ! poor Little Jim.
She saw that he was dying—
Thei child she lov'd so dear,
,Had utter'd the last words that she
Might ever hope to hear. '
boys' first standard. 103
The cottage door was open'd,
The colUer^s step was heard ;
The mother and the father met.
Yet neither spake a word I
He knew that all was over—
He knew his child was dead;
He took the candle in his hand,
And walk'd towards the bed.
His quiv'ring lips gave token
Of grief he'd fain conceal ;
And see ! his wife has join'd him,
The stricken couple kneel !
With hearts bowed down with sadness,
They humbly ask of Him,
In heaven, once more, to meet again,
Their own poor Little Jim.
Edward Farmer.
JACK FROST.
mon-ey hand-some mis-chief
har-bour dis-tance au-tumn
ca-nal scarce-ly wool-len
ex-pand con-tract ket-tle
act-ive sin-gle e-ven-ing
Jack Frost is a very active fellow, for in a
single evening he will skip about all over the
country, and write his name on everything he
can get at. He does mischief, too, for I have
known him to break handsome water-jugs that
cost a lot of money, and to burst the water-
lOa USEFUL KNOWLEDGE READING BOOKS.
pipes in the house, so that when a thaw came
the place was flooded. If he carries on his
pranks for many nights and days, he locks up
the ships and barges in the rivers, canals, and
harbours. And there's no stopping him, once
he begins, unless you bring indoors the things
you don't want him to touch, and keep the
place warm with good* fires. But it is not
very easy to bring a river or a pond indoors,
and so he has his own way with them. He
does not like the fire himself, but when he is
about the fire looks very cheerful, and crackles
and blazes away as much as to say, ' Who cares
for you ? I don't, so pray keep your distance.
I can't allow any of your tricks near me.' He
is a pleasant sort of fellow, on the whole, to
those who are ready for him, who are healthy
and strong, have good warm clothes, plenty
of food, and snug houses. But the sick, and
the poor, and the aged cannot well endure him.
Let us try to know a little more about Mr.
Jack. I need scarcely tell you that he comes
about in the nights and early mornings of
Spring and Autumn, but in Winter he is
mostly about all day long.
' Take this into your hand, and tell me what
it is.'
* It is an iron rod, sir.'
' Is it hot or cold ? '
^ Cold, sir.'
* Now take this into your hand, and teU me
what it is.'
boys' fikst standard. 105
* It is a piece of iron plate or sheet-iron,
sir.'
' Quite right. Do you notice anything
about it ? '
' It has a hole in it, sir.'
' What shape is the hole ? '
' Hound, sir.'
* See if you can put the iron rod through it.'
* Yes, sir, it just fits it.'
' Very well, then ; the iron rod is cold, and
it just fits the hole in the piece of sheet-iron.
Notice that fact.
' Now put one end of the iron rod into the
fire, and tell me when you think it is quite
hot.'
' I think it's red hot now, sir.'
' Very well. Now take the piece of iron
plate in your left hand, and the iron rod in
your right. You had better take this woollen
cloth to hold it with, or else you may burn
yourself. Are you ready ? '
' Quite ready, sir.'
' Now put the iron rod through the hole in
the plate as you did before.'
' It won't go through, sir.'
'Why?'
' It's too big now.'
* Just so ; the heat has made it larger. Now
can you tell me a word which means to make
larger?'
' Expand means to make larger, sir.'
* Quite right. Then you have found out
106 USEFUL KNOWLEDGE READING BOOKS.
that heat expands the iron, and you would find
that, as a rule, heat expands things.
* When you fill a kettle with water, and put
it on the fire, the water pours out of the
spout, and makes a great fuss long before the
water boils.'
' Yes, it did so this morning, sir, and made
such a mess on the clean hearth ! '
* Well. You can account for it bow? '
* Yes. It is because the heat expands the
water, so that the kettle is not big enough to
hold it, and it therefore flows out of the
spout-'
' Is the bar of iron cold yet ? '
' no ; it is quite hot still.'
* Take it out and dip it into a pail of cold
water.'
' It's quite cold now, sir.'
' Put it through the hole in the plate just as
you did at first.'
' It goes through quite nicely now.'
* Then it has got smaller again ? '
' Yes, sir, rather smaller than it was at first,
I think.'
' What has made it smaller? '
' The cold, I suppose.'
' You are right, the cold has made it smaller.
Now, can you tell me a word which means to
make smaller?'
' Yes, sir, contract is to make smaller.'
' Quite right. Now you have learnt in such
a way that you will not easily forget it. that
boys' rillST STANDARD. 107
heat expands, and cold contracts things. We
will now go on with our lesson on frost.'
£• T. S.
JACK FROST (continued).
bot-tle freez-es plough-ed
sol-id par-don va-pour
pei*-haps in-trude care-fdl-ly
melt-ed can-non cov-er-ed
se*vere piec-es cas-tle
If you fill a bottle with water, cork it up
tightly, and put it out of doors on a frosty
night, you will most likely find the bottle
broken in the morning, because the cold
expands the water when it turns into ice, so
that persons \vho have thought a great deal
abdut the matter have found that to a certain
point cold contracts water, but when it freezes
it it expands it. The ice, then, takes up more
room tnan the same weight of water, and . this
is the reason tvhy ice floats. If the ice were
not lighter than the water, it would sink to
the bottom of the rivers and ponds, and in the
course of a long winter they would become
solid masses of ice ; so that it would take a very
long time for the sun to melt them when the
days became warmer. Perhaps it would never
all become melted in some parts of the country,
and this would cause a great deal of trouble.
But as it is^ the ice floats on the top of the
water^ and can therefore be often broken in
108 USEFUL KNOWLEDGE READINCJ BOOKS.
winter, so that in the case of rivers, nnless the
cold is very severe, it goes away to the sea,
leaving the stream free for boats, barges, or
ships. And when the warm weather comes it
is melted much sooner than it could be if it
sank to the bottom.
When Jack Frost gets into the house he often
causes much mischief, as I have said before ;
but many persons think the thaw does it.
The fact is. Jack bursts the pipes when he
freezes the water, but the ice does not come
through the cracks he makes because it is
solid. When the thaw comes, however, the ice
is turned to water again, soon finds out the
cracks, and so makes its way where it is not
wanted without so much as saying,' I beg your
pardon; I hope I don't intrude.'
The force with which water expands when
it freezes is so great, that even large iron can-
nons, filled with water, and plugged up at the
mouth and touch-hole, have been burst in
pieces by Mr. Frost when he has been very
severe.
The farmer makes great use of Mr. Jack, for
after he has got in his crops, he has his stiff
land ploughed or dug ; and if you walk through
his fields you will see great clods of earth
Ijring all over them, and looking very awkward
indeed. But if you go the same way after Mr.
Jack Frost has been at work, you will see all
these great clods broken up into very fine
BLOuld. The fact is, each clod had a good deal
boys' fikst standard. ' 10&
of water in it. This water became frozen, and
so, in trying to expand, it broke up the clod
into the fine mould that you see. The frost
also killed the worms and grubs that were
there, so that it is of great use to the farmer.
When the vapour that makes up the clouds
freezes, it forms very pretty crystals, which
fall to the earth in great numbers, and make
what we call snow. If you catch one of these
crystals on the dark sleeve of your coat or
dress, and look at it carefully, you will see
that it is very pretty, and you wUl most
likely notice, i£ you catch a dozen of them,
that there will not be two alike. The snow is
very useful in winter, for it covers the ground,
and keeps many plants safe which would
otherwise be^ killed by the frost. But some-
times the* wind drives the snow into great heaps
by the sides of the hills, or fills up the valleys.
These are called snow-drifts, and in Scotland,
and even the north of England, hundreds of
sheep are lost in them during a severe
winter, though sometimes they live for many
days covered up with the snow, if there are a
few holes in the white roof to let in the air.
In some cold countries people make houses
of snow. They tread it hard and firm, and
then cut it out into the shape of bricks, with
which they build little houses or huts, in which
they live snugly enough, wrapped up in the
skins of bears and other beasts which they hunt.
When I was a boy we made a fine large
110 USEFUL KNOWLEDGE READING BOOKS.
castle of snow in our playground, and stuck
a flag on the top of it. At night-time we
lighted it up with candles, which we put in the
windows, which we had fitted with squares of
glass. It looked very jolly outside, I can
tell you, and was by no means bad inside,
for we made seats in it of banks of snow-
covered with boards. But one morning, when
we got up and looked out of window, we saw
that the flag had tumbled down, the roof had
fallen in, the glass had slipped out of the
windows, and our fine castle looked like a very
dirty, wretched ruin. Mr. Thaw bad been at
work during the night, and had done all this
mischief. It was, however, five or six weeks
before all the snow was gone, for when it is
piled up to a great height and beaten hard, so
that the warm air cannot get into it, it lasts a
long time.
Snowballing is a first-rate game for boys.
They should have sound boots, and ^ease'
them well ; if they do not they mav get bad
colds, which are very hard things to get rid of.
It is very unfair to put stones or pieces of
ice in snow-balls, because they may do much
mischief. I have known a boy killed with a
snow-ball made in this way. Boys should play
the game in an open field, or in their play*
ground, if their teachers do not object, \mt not
in the open street. And they should never
throw snow -balls at strangers as they pass, for
they may do a great de^l of harm, and even
boys' first standard. Ill
cause death. And no kind-hearted boys, such
as I hope you all are, would wish to do such a
thing. Form two sides as you would at
cricket, and pelt one another to your hearts'
content. If you have your jackets turned up
round your necks, and sound shoes on, the
game will keep you warm, and do you good.
It is a good game for girls, too, if their
teachers and parents do not forbid them to
play at it. E. T. S.
JACK FROST {concluded).
sur-face
knock-ing
win-dows
church-es
sprin-kled
be-com-ing
mount-ain
pol-ar
thought-less
ap-pear
ice-berg
health-y
re-gion
to-geth-er
arc-tic
When Mr. Frost gets hold of the water of
the clouds after it has formed into drops, he
changes them into hard lumps of ice called
hail-stones. These fall very often in the sum-
mer, because at that season of the year, though
it may be warm on the surface of the earth it
is very cold high up in the air. Hail-jstones
are mostly the size of small pe^.s, but some-'
times they are as large as walnuts and then'
they do great damage to fruit-trees, and^
break the glass in windows and green-houses/
In the winter he plays tricks with the mist
and dew, so that when you look out of the
112 USEFUL KNOWLEDGE BEADING BOOKS.
window in the morning the grass, the hedges,
and the roofs of the houses often look as
though they had been sprinkled with flour.
This is called hoar-frost, and it often kills
tender trees and plants that have not been
taken care of, or put out of his reach.
It is always very cold high up in the air,
and there are some mountains whose tops are
so high above the land around them that the
snow there never goes quite away, so that they
are always covered with it. At times, great
masses of this snow slide down the sides of
the mountains with fearful force, knocking
down trees, houses, and churches that they
meet in their way, and perhaps killing the
people who may be in them, till they come to
the valleys at the bottom and bury the people
alive in meir houses.
From the under part of the snow on the
tops of these mountains water flows, becoming
as it goes along a great frozen stream, sliding
down into the valley. As it comes nearer the
warmer regions of the air it melts and flows
away in mighty torrents to fill the rivers
which run into, the sea. Sometimes there are
great cracks in these rivers of ice, and persons
who climb the mountains have often fallen
into them and been killed. But they glide so
slowly down that the bodies of persons thus
lost do not appear at the base of the mountain
till a long time after.
In what are called the polar regions of the
boys' first standard. 118
earth the sea is blocked up with ice all the
year round, for there the summer is so short
that there is only time for a small portion to
be melted before winter comes on again. Th^
ice there is many feet in thickness, and whep
large masses get heaped together they form
what are called icebergs. These float about the
sea, being carried by winds and currents, and
appear Uke moving moimtains of ice. When
the sun shines on them they look very grand
indeed, but woe to the ship that does not get
out of their way, for they are so large and
heavy, and move so swiftly, that they have
been known to sink the strongest ships and
destroy all on board. These icebergs do not
Gome very near our shores, but are sometimes
seen within a few miles of the coast in the
extreme north of Scotland.
The harbours in Russia and other countries
in the north of Europe are often blocked up
with ice during the winter, so that ships can
neither come out from, nor enter them, but
the sea is always open around the coasts of
England, Scotland, and Ireland.
The rivers become frozen over when thes
winter is very severe. Some years ago the
river Thames was frozen over in this way ;
and the ice was so thick and strong that a fair
was held on it and an ox roasted whole.
Skating is very good fun and very healthy,
out you must take care not to venture where
*he ice is weak, for hundreds of persons have
I.B. I
114 USEFUL E^OWLEDGB BLADING BOOKS.
been drowned through its giving way. In
Holland and other countries where the canals
run along the middle of the streets, persons
skate from place to place instead of walking,
and they can go very many miles a day in this
manner.
Sliding is good in its way for those who
cannot skate or have no skates to put on ; but
boys are sometimes thoughtless enough to
make slides in public streets and roads. They
should never do this, as persons are apt to fall
if they tread on them in the dark,, and break
their limbs. Almost every winter we hear of
poor old people falling on them and meeting
with a cruel death, because of the selfish and
wicked conduct of some thoughtless boy.
In Russia Jack Frost is so severe in winter
time that he very often freezes persons' noses
as they walk along the streets. How would
you lite, as you are going along and 8teru»g
about you at all the new and strange sights
you see, to have a man run up to you all at
once, crying, ' your nose, sir ! ' and begin to
rub that useful member with a handful of
snow? Yet that sort of thing often occurs,
and I ain told it's the only way to save your
nose, once it gets frost-bitten. So that what
at first sight appears an insult is really a
very great kindness. Those who travel in
the arctic regions have to be very careful,
for a frost bite often results in the loss of an
eye, an army' ca^ a leg. E. T. S.
pots' PIRST STANDABDL 115
POOR H.
8otmd-ed ex-cuse e-nough
iQ-stance pro-nounce pur-pose
er-ror wrong-ly Ar-thur
hap-py aw-fm Har-ry
awk-waxd blun-ders hor-riS
Qp all ihue twenty-six letters, I think poor H
is the most badly treated, for many persons
take no notice of it when they should do so,
and others use it when they should iu)t. We
can excuse those who have never been taught
better when they make suck mistakes, but
those who have been to school and learnt how
to read ought never to ill-use this letter H.
. There are some words that begin with H in
which it must never be sounded, and as they
are very few in number you must learn them so
as never to forget them. The chief of these are
heir^ hour J honour^ honest Other words made
up from these have also silent H, as heiress^
Jieirloam, hourly^ half-hour^ honoured^ honesty.
In these words, then, the H must not be
sounded ; and, of course, when a word does
not begin with H, you must not pronounce it
as though it did. For instance, you must not
say Aawful instead of awful, ^Tann instead of
Ann^ £r<»mly instead of Emily, jQTarthur instead
of Arthiur.
It is a common error to leave out the H
where it should be sounded. This is quite
116 USEFUL KNOWLEDGE BEADHfO BOOEB.
as bad as putting it in wHere it is not wanted;
for sometimes the word without H means one
thing, but with H it means another. So be
carefiil, my little friends, and, whether reading
or speaking, say Aorse, not 'orse ; Aappy, not
'appy; -ffarry, not 'Any; Aead, not 'ead;
Aouse, not 'ouse; Aorrid, not 'orrid, (Tell
your teacher the meanings of these words ; —
and, hand; ash, hash; air, hair; ail^ hail; eat,
heat; edge, hedge.)
Awkward blunders may arise if you do not
attend to poor H. For instance, I once heard
a mother say to her daughter, ' 'eat the flat-
iron, Jane.' But if Jane could have done
what her mother bade her, she would not
hive eaten many more dinners. Of course,
the good woman meant that Jane was to heat
it by putting it to the fire.
Sometimes H occurs as the second letter of
a word, and then it must be sounded. So
you must say whichj not wich ; wherBj not
were ; when^ not wen ; wkeA^ not wat ; whoee^
not 'oose ; whrp^ not wip ; whesA^ not weat ;
why^ not wy.
It will be a useful lesson if you write out
on one side of your slate all the words you
can think of which begin with H, and on
the other all those which begin with a, e, i, o,
or u, which are called vowels, and then read
each list aloud to your teacher. E. T. S.
Spottiswoode ^- Co., Jointers, London and WeUiMHuUr^
'.'-f